


You're Not Alone ( Daryl Dixon x Reader )

by Sourwolf_sterek32



Series: You're Not Alone (Pt. 1 & 2) [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Daryl Dixon Angst, Daryl Dixon is a Softie, Daryl Dixon is bad at feelings, Daryl Dixon x Reader, Daryl has a Crush, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Daryl Dixon, Reader-Insert, Season 2, reader is a badass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-17 14:50:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15463809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sourwolf_sterek32/pseuds/Sourwolf_sterek32
Summary: You've been on your own for 8 months now after your brother died. Scavenging and hunting, using the skills your father taught you to stay alive. Until you came across a little girl lost in the woods. You were determined to get her back to her mother, but once you found her group everything changed and you found yourself falling for the blue eyed archer without realising it.(Set during Season 2. Roughly around the time Sophia went missing)





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1-

_"Matthew come on, we need to keep moving. This place has already been scavenged." You whispered gripping your compound bow tighter while grabbing your little brothers hand in the other. The small service station you guys came across was destroyed, windows smashed with rubbish lying all over the floor._

_"Wait, I think I can see some canned food." Matthew shouted and before you could even register what he said he ran around the corner down another shopping aisle._

_"Keep your voice down!" You hushed, eyes scanning your surrounding for any sign of danger when you heard the soft groan of the dead. "Matty we gotta go!" Running into the next shopping aisle to grab your brother you nearly ran straight into one of the dead, quickly skidding to a stop as you pulled your hunting knife out stabbing it in the head without hesitation._

_"This way, c'mon!" You ordered pulling your knife out as you glanced over at your brother who was already running towards you, his knife out as well. You turn around planning on ducking out the backdoor with Matthew when you came face to face with two more of the dead. You kicked the closest one away as you stabbed the other in the head when you heard your brother scream. Matthew. Panic began to take over your body as you pulled the knife out slamming hard into the head of the other dead one before quickly turning around to find Matthew on the ground on the other side of the room with one of the dead leaning over him._

_"NO!" You screamed dropping your knife as you pulled the string back on your bow aiming the sights on the back of the dead ones head as you released the string._

_You stood there frozen for a few seconds staring at all the blood and bite marks over your brothers stomach. This isn't happening. This can't be happening, you thought to yourself as you dropped down next to him. He was barely conscious, his face screwed up in pain as you wiped away his tears with your thumb, cupping his cheek with your hand._

_"Matty, look at me. Its okay, I've got you." You whispered tears forming in your eyes as you took in the injury and you knew he didn't have much time._

_"It hurts. P-please make it stop." He begged grabbing your hand as he began coughing up blood but you shook your head. "Y/N, please just do it." He cried squeezing his eyes shut from the pain as tears poured down your cheeks knowing you needed to put him out of his misery. Taking a few deep breaths you pulled your handgun out from your belt, switching the safety off with shaky hands._

_"I love you Matty." You said, your voice coming out a mere whisper as he opened his eyes taking one last look at you, giving you a soft smile which only made you cry harder. "Close your eyes baby." You whispered kissing his forehead before aiming the gun at his head and pulling the trigger *BANG*_

You sat up gasping for air, taking in your surroundings realising you had fallen asleep on the couch in the small cabin you came across last night. Wiping the cold sweat off your forehead you sat up, resting your elbows on your knees trying to get those images of your brother out your head. After a few minutes you managed to calm yourself down enough before gathering up your belongings getting ready to move out. You didn't really have any destination in mind, you just kept moving, never staying anywhere for longer than a few days. You were pretty good shot with both your bow and hand gun but usually opted towards your bow because it was quiet and didn't want to waste bullets. You scavenged when you could but never went to large towns, it was too risky, large towns usually mean more of the dead walking around but also mean people might be taking refuge in houses and you didn't want to risk running into any bad people. But that didn't really bother you, when you couldn't find anywhere to scavenge you turned to hunting. Your father taught you how to hunt when you were younger and you couldn't be more grateful for all those family camping trips he took you on.

"Time to hit the road." You mumbled to yourself pulling your backpack over your shoulders as you tucked your handgun back into your belt before picking up your bow from against the couch before making your way out the cabin.

The sun was slowly rising, sending small rays of sunshine through the woods as you began walking, keeping the sun on your right as you headed north. You were only walking for few hours when a scream tore through the still morning air. Your eyes widen as you scanned your surroundings trying to pinpoint the source of the sudden noise when the scream came again, sounding more desperate. Your blood ran cold when you realised it belonged to a girl, a fairly young girl but the sound of the scream, your chest started pounding a million miles an hour as your broke out in a sprint towards where you thought it came from.

"Help!" The girl shouted from your left and you turned around to see a couple figures moving, a smaller person in front followed by two other people. It took you a few seconds to realise that the other two people weren't people, they were the dead and they were chasing the little girl. Shit she is going to get herself killed if she keeps screaming like that. Where are her parents?

"Hey! Over here!" You shouted aiming your bow at the one of the dead as it stopped and turned towards you just in time as you released the string sinking the arrow through its forehead. Without hesitation you pull out another arrow aiming it at the other dead one killing it in an instant. 

"Thank you." A soft voice whispers from behind you and you turn around to find the little girl standing behind a tree. How the hell did she get over there that quickly?

"No problem." You replied walking over towards the dead bodies as you pulled out your arrows. "I'm Y/N, what's your name sweetie."

"Sophia."

"Where are your parents Sophia?" You asked turning back around to the little girl realising she was walking behind you. You took in her features, she had short blonde hair and would have only been about 11-12 years old, how did she end up out here alone?

"We were on the highway when a group of walkers came." Walkers, so that's what she called the dead. "I got separated from my mum." She replied looking down at the ground as a few tears fell from her eyes and your heart broke.

"I will help you find your mother, Sophia. You said you were on a highway when you last saw her? Did this highway happen to have a bunch of broken down cars along it?" You asked thinking back to a few days ago when you came across a group of broken down cars on a road along with a big sign and a bunch of food. You couldn't for the life for the life of you remember what name was on the sign was but you knew it started with an 'S'. You took a couple tins of the canned food that was there but didn't take all of it, figuring whoever it was for must need it more than you did.

Sophia nodded and you signed with relief. "I think I may know where that is, it's a few days walk from here though. How long have you been out here alone?"

"I don't know, a while." She admitted looking up at you and you shook your head putting your bow on the ground as you opened your backpack handing her a candy bar and a bottle of water. "Thank you ma'am."

"You can call me Y/N." You replied with a smile as you ruffled her hair before taking a seat next to her. "Where you just with your mother? What about your father?"

"We were with a group of people, about eight people I think but my Dad died a while ago." She replied and you nodded, instantly regreting asking about it, you should have figured something had happened to him when she didn't mention him earlier.

"I had a little brother about the same age as you." You admitted as you stared out amongst the trees not knowing why you had said that to her, maybe it because you hadn't talked to anyone since your brother was around, maybe it was because you needed to tell someone, you had no idea.

"What happened to him?" She asked taking a bite of the bar as she looked over at you with big curious eyes.

"He got bit, there was nothing I could do." You replied with a shrug fighting the tears that were threating to spill, you couldn't cry, not in front of Sophia.

"I'm sorry about your brother." She said as she wrapped her arms around your stomach catching you off guard for a second not expecting the contact before you smiled hugging her back.

"I'm sorry about your dad."

 

 

-

The next few days passed fairly quickly, Sophia was a talkative kid once she began to trust you and feel comfortable around you. You didn't mind her talking, it was a nice change from complete silence 24/7 and she was smart enough to shut up whenever you told her to, whether it was because of walkers or because you were hunting. She told you about her life before the apocalypse, about her school friends, her pets, her hobbies and in return you told her a bit about yourself, you knew she wouldn't remember any of what you said so you didn't mind. She told you about her group, they seemed like nice enough people and you were excited to reunite her with her mother.

"There's the road! They have to be there." Sophia suddenly shouted catching your attention as you spotted the road a few hundred metres ahead. The two of you followed the road for another hour or so before the group of broken down cars appeared in the distance. "There it is, that's where they are!" She said eagerly grabbing your hand and pulling you towards the cars, you couldn't help but smile at her as you began walking faster.

As you got closer to the cars you spotted a couple of people leaning against a truck talking amongst each other but before you could tell Sophia to stop she let go of your hand and sprinted towards the people. At first you smiled thinking she recognised the people as her group but you quickly realised they weren't her group when they pulled guns up pointing them at the little girl running towards them.

"What the hell!" One of them yelled aiming the gun right at Sophia who skidded to stop a few cars distance from them.

"Well well well. Look what we have here man." The other man said as he walked towards Sophia with a sick grin that made your blood run cold, these people were bad news. You quickly ducked behind a car placing your bow on the ground as you pulled out your gun, knowing the two men both had guns.

"We are going to have some fun tonight boys!" The man shouted as he started walking towards Sophia. Adrenaline shot through your veins as your mind went through all the possible options, fight or flight, stay hidden or try help. You gripped the gun tighter in your hand shaking your head, there was no point thinking over your options because your mind was already made up and with that you stood up aiming your gun at the man closest to Sophia.

"Leave her alone." You shouted taking a few steps closer to the people but making sure you kept a car between you and them at all times, noticing they had automatic rifles. "We don't want any trouble fellas."

"Damn! We got ourselves a beauty here man." The guy shouted licking his lips as his eyes roamed over your body and you suddenly felt exposed even in your jeans and sleeveless flannel shirt.

"Do you even know how to shoot a gun, sweetheart?" The other man questioned gripping his gun as he stood up against the truck.

"Sophia come here, we're leaving." You shouted, ignoring the mans question as Sophia nodded making her way towards you.

"No! Grab her, we aren't letting them get away!" The man shouted pointing towards Sophia who started running towards you in terror. Without thinking twice you cocked your gun aiming at the man behind Sophia as you squeezed the trigger landing a shot straight in his chest. Within a split second gun fire erupted from the other mans rifle, you quickly pulled Sophia down behind you out of the line of fire as you turned to the other man and pulled the trigger. You killed them. You just killed two people... What has this world come to?

"Y/N your shoulder." Sophia cried looking at your left shoulder, you furrowed your brow in confusion following her line of sight to find blood seeping through your shirt over your left shoulder and that's when the pain hit you. The man must have hit you before you got your shot off, shit! What do I do?

"Sophia is there blood on the back of my shoulder?" You questioned turning around for a few seconds before turning back and Sophia shook her head. Shit, no exit wound, that means the bullet is stuck in your shoulder. 

"I'm scared." Sophia whimpered looking up at you with teary eyes before looking back over towards the two men on the ground, dead.

"Don't look, sweetie." You quickly said brining her attention back to you as you gingerly took your backpack off placing it on the ground. You needed to slow the bleeding in your shoulder, otherwise you and Sophia were both as good as dead.

Reaching into the bag you pulled out a white cloth you found a few days ago and began tying it around your shoulder, which turned out to be more difficult than you anticipated with only one hand.

"Let me, I can do a shoelace knot." Sophia said and you nodded kneeling down on the road so she could reach and you groaned in pain as she tightened the cloth around your shoulder. "Sorry."

"Nothing to apologise for, it needed to be tight so thank you." You replied with a soft smile which turned into a wince as you tried putting the backpack on. "Can you carry this for me?" You asked and she quickly nodded taking it from you as she swung it over her shoulders.

Those gun shots would have attracted walkers, we need to get out here. Glancing around your surroundings you spot the familiar car with the hand written sign reading _'Sophia stay here, we will come everyday.'_ But you knew you couldn't stay here, it was too dangerous

"Your family was here. If they were smart they would have headed north away from Atlanta so that's where we are going to go but we aren't gonna walk on the road, that's too risky. Grab some of this food and put it in the bag, we're running low." You instructed putting your handgun back in your waist band of your belt as you picked your bow up off the ground. The slightest movement of your left arm sent surges of pain through your shoulder and you could feel the cloth begging to get soaked in blood. 

"That'll be enough, lets go. It'll get dark soon we need to find a place to crash the night." You said and Sophia nodded zipping up the bag back up as you made your way back into the woods.

It was dark by the time you two stumbled upon a small hut in the middle of the woods. It wasn't much, nothing inside other than an old reclining chair and empty cans of beans scattered on the floor, but it had four walls and a roof so you didn't complain. You let Sophia have the chair and after eating some of the canned food she fell asleep straight away. You stayed up for a few more hours after that, keeping watch but the doors and windows were shut so no walkers were getting in without either of you hearing them. The pain in your shoulder was getting worse but there was nothing you could do about it, the bullet was still imbedded in your flesh and you had nothing to try get it out with, even if you did you doubt you could do it by yourself. Closing your eyes, you leant against the wall and took a deep breath as you eventually fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

"Do you really think we'll be able to find my mum?" Sophia questioned brining you out of your thoughts as the two of you continued to walk through the woods, the sun starting to rise in the sky.

"I will get you to your mother Sophia, we just have to keep going. Your group would be heading this way, its only a matter of time before we catch up to them. Don't worry kiddo, you'll see her soon." You replied giving her a reassuring smile when you suddenly tripped over a tree root nearly falling face first into the ground but managed to stop yourself by grabbing onto the nearest tree.

"God damnit." You muttered through your clenched teeth as sudden pain flared through your shoulder. You stood there leaning against the tree for a few minutes trying to get your breathing under control, trying your best to ignore the pain, not wanting to frighten Sophia.

"Are you okay?" She questioned softly, not knowing what to do as she stood next you, her hand on your thigh tightly like shes scared if she lets go then you will disappear.

You go to answer her question when you suddenly heard something in the distance. You looked down at Sophia to make sure you weren't hearing things and by the look on her face you knew she heard it too. It was people. It was peoples voices in the distance. They might know where Sophias mother is, or they could be like the men on the highway... well there's only one way to find out.

"Lets go." You whispered, walking slowly towards the noise, praying with all hope that these new people were friendly.

The two of you walked for a few more minutes, the voices becoming slightly clearer but you were still unable to pick up what they were saying or even if it was a male or female talking. You guys continued walking through the woods until suddenly the woods stopped and you were standing in what seemed to be a paddock. Taking in your surroundings you spotted a few sheds, a large two-story farm house in the distance and a big red barn about 200 metres away to your left.

"Great it's a farm." You commented sarcastically when you spotted a group of people standing out the front of the barn. You could barely make out the people but roughly counted eight or nine people which seemed to be where the noise was coming from.

"Is a farm a bad thing?" Sophia whispered, clutching onto your thigh tighter as her eyes roamed all the free land.

"Probably not. It just reminds me of my ex-boyfriend." You admitted as you subconsciously ran your hand over chest where you knew a nasty looking scar sat under your shirt. You shook your head trying to forget the memory as you focused back on the farm in front of you, debating what to do.

"Was he a bad person?" She asked glancing up at you and you simply nodded before looking back over at the people by the barn who looked to be in the middle of a heated discussion. "We're going to head towards those people, but you need to stay behind me alright? Hold onto the back of my shirt if you want, but stay behind me until I know they aren't going to try hurt us, okay?" You looked down at the little girl who simply nodded reaching for the back of your shirt as you began walking towards the barn.

***Meanwhile***

"I'm close to finding this girl! I just found her damn doll two days ago." Daryl stated glancing towards the barn before focusing back on Shane who was getting angrier by the second after finding out the barn was full of walkers.

"You found her doll, Daryl. That's what you did. You found a doll!" Shane replied staring straight at Daryl.

"Ya don't know what the hell you're talking about!" Daryl shouted taking a few steps towards the other man.

"I'm just saying what needs to said. You get a good lead-"

"Shane, stop!" Rick shouted holding his hand up trying to deescalate the situation between his two friends.

"Let me tell you something else, man. If she was alive out there and saw you coming all methed out with your buck knife and geek ears around your neck, she would run in the other direction!" Shane yelled and in a split second Daryl started yelling back trying to fight with him but Rick got in between the two of them trying to keep either of them from getting hurt as they continued to shout at each other.

"Back of!" Rick yelled as Shane finally took a few steps away with the help of Lori while Andrea tried to keep Daryl from charging back at him. "Now just let me talk to Hershel. Let me figure it out."

"Guys." Glen muttered staring at a figure in the distance by the edge of the woods.

"What are you gonna figure out?!" Shane snapped, his attention back on Rick.

"If we're gonna stay, if we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into. It's his land." Rick answered looking back towards the barn when Glen suddenly shouted catching all their attention.

"Guys! There's a walker in the field." He shouted pointing towards the figure slowly walking towards them a hundred metres away.

"I'll kill it, like what we should be doing to every single one of those geeks in there." Shane shouted pointing towards the barn before snatching the rifle out of Dales hand as he started jogging towards the walker in the field.

The others let out a sigh of relief that all the arguing was over for the time being, knowing for a fact that it will continue later on but just enjoying the peace while it lasts.

"Umm Rick, that's no walker. It's a woman." Dale suddenly stated looking through his binoculars towards the figure in the field. "Seriously it's not a walker, look."

"Shit." Rick muttered after looking through the binoculars realising it was in fact a person and not a walker. "Shane is going to kill her. Daryl with me, everyone else head back to the camp!" Rick ordered before taking off in a sprint towards Shane who was already halfway to the woman.

-

"Stay behind me, sweetie." You whispered just loud enough for Sophia to hear as you notice a man wearing a police hat running towards you and you froze when you noticed the rifle in his hand that he was slowly raising in your direction.

On instinct you dropped your bow pulling out your handgun knowing full well you wouldn't be able to pull the string back on your bow with your shoulder how it is.

"Who the hell are you?" The man questioned angrily as he stood a few metres in front of you the gun still aimed right at you. So much for hoping for a friendly group of people.

"Why should I tell you." You shot back dryly, trying to keep your voice confident and strong even though on the inside you were terrified, knowing you weren't in any position for a fight.

"What did you just say to me? You walk in on our camp, armed with a gun and speak to me like that! I ask the questions and you answer. Now give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you?" He asked and your heart began to beat faster when you heard his gun load, knowing there was a bullet in the chamber of the gun.

"Shane stop!" Another man shouted, you jumped slightly not expecting another voice when you notice two more men running towards you. How the hell did you not see them coming earlier? "Shane put the gun down!" The man in a blue shirt yelled and you figured he was the leader of the group.

"Like hell I'm dropping my gun, she has one aimed at me!" Shane responded not taking his eyes off you and you mentally face palmed at the stupidity of the man, he was the one who pulled a gun out first!

"She has a kid with her, drop the gun." The leader ordered causing you step to the left slightly blocking their view of Sophia, not trusting either of them.

"I don't want any trouble." You finally said figuring it was time to speak up in case Shane decided to pull his gun up at you again. You glanced at Shane before focusing back on the group leader before your eyes glanced over to the other man, who had remained silent during the whole encounter, watching you curiously.

"Where's your group?" The leader asked taking a step closer with his hand out slightly indicating that he wasn't going to hurt you as you lowered your gun shaking your head.

"I don't have a group."

"Bullshit! You mean to tell us that a woman like you has survived out there all on your own?" Shane questioned causing you to glare at him.

"Wow. Sexist much!" You shouted unable to keep your tone in check as you continued to stare at Shane. "I don't argue with assholes like you, you'll just lower me to your level then beat me with experience. I will talk these two." You stated and you could see a hint of a smile forming on the quiet guys face as you looked between him and the leader.

"I don't want any arguments but are you sure you aren't with anyone other than your kid?" The leader asked and you shook your head, grimacing at the slight pain that it caused your shoulder.

"I'm not lying to you. I was alone out there until I found this kid, now I'm just trying to get her back to her mother." You finally said taking a step to the side to show the three men the little girl behind you. God, I hope I haven't made a mistake coming to this farm.

"Rick!" Sophia suddenly shouted as she dashed passed you towards the stranger. Shit.

"No Sophia!" You yelled reaching to grab her with your free hand, but the sudden movement sent spikes of pain through your shoulder causing you to double over yourself dropping your gun as you grabbed your shoulder leaning forward trying to dull the pain.

"Shit, that's fresh blood." Shanes voice said near you as he took a few steps towards you but you quickly took a few steps backwards.

"Don't touch me." You warned glaring at the man before looking back over at the nicer two men who were both standing there looking at Sophia in complete shock. Wait did they know Sophia? Oh my God this is Sophias group, you recalled her talking about the leader of her group named Rick. You would have been happier that you had finally found the girls group but the pain radiating from the bullet wound was taking up majority of your mind as you tried to focus on breathing normally.

"Are you bit?" A husky southern voice questioned and you glance up to find it belonging to the quiet man who was now looking at you with a hint of worry.

"So he speaks." You commented looking at the man with piercing blue eyes only just noticing how attractive the stranger is.

"Answer the question." The leader ordered looking over at you before kneeling down next to Sophia giving her a hug.

"She was shot." You heard Sophia answer as she let go of Rick who's eyes snapped over to you in shock. Well so much for being discrete about it.

"How'd you get shot?" Shane questioned taking a step towards you but you quickly held your hand up making him stop and take a step back.

"Where's her mother?" You asked choosing to ignore Shanes question bringing your attention back towards Rick and the other guy. "I promised I would get her to her mum, where is she?"

The men stood there looking at each other for a few seconds, obviously contemplating whether to let you into their camp or not before the leader finally spoke.

"Shane take Sophia to Carol and the others, they went back to the camp." Rick said but you quickly shook your head not wanting the little girl to be alone with that asshole.

"No, I don't trust him." You suddenly said taking a few quick steps towards Sophia when pain exploded through your shoulder again forcing you to stop in your tracks. "Fuck." You groaned grabbing your shoulder again even though it was no use, the pain wasn't going to stop.

"She needs to see Hershel." The quiet man stated taking a step towards you slowly not wanting to startle you. Who the hell's Hershel?

"Alright. Alright. I will go with Shane to take Sophia to her mother, can you take her to Hershel? I will be there as soon as I drop Sophia off." Rick asked turning towards the quiet guy whose name you still don't know. "We have a doctor here, he can take a look at the bullet wound but I need you to hand over your gun." Rick stated and you nodded towards your gun on the ground where you dropped it. That was a fair enough request, you wouldn't want a stranger in your group with a loaded gun.

"I dropped my bow." You muttered taking a few steps backwards as you leant down to pick up your compound bow when sudden dizziness took over as black dots began to cloud your vision. One minute you were reaching down for your bow, the next you were lying on the ground with strong arms wrapped around you. What the hell is happening?

"Hey, ya with me?" A husky southern voice questioned bringing you out of whatever haze you were in as you opened your eyes to find crystal blue ones staring right at you. "Ya not gonna pass out on me again are ya?"

"Did I just pass out?" You asked in confusion as you let the man help you back on his feet, quickly grabbing his shoulder as you nearly fall over. Man, I must have lost more blood than I thought, I should have tied the cloth tighter around my shoulder.

"Only for a few seconds. C'mon the farm house is this way." The man said pointing to the large two-story house you noticed earlier. The walk to the house was slow and painful, you could feel the bullet in your shoulder move during every step and you honestly had no idea how you never noticed it until now. Was it always this painful or did your sudden movement earlier cause the bullet to move?


	3. Chapter 3

"How long ago did this happen?" An old man asked walking into the room, followed by two young women who looked a lot like sisters trailing in behind him as well as an older woman. So this must be Hershel, you thought to yourself.

"Yesterday." You simply replied as you glanced over at Daryl who was standing at the end of the bed you were lying on. He was biting this thumb as he watched you cautiously obviously still unsure about you.

"I'm going to take this cloth off now and take a look at the wound, this may hurt a little." Hershel warned as he carefully untied the knot peeling the cloth off revealing your blood stained sleeveless shirt. "This isn't going to work, I need you to take this shirt off. I'm not going to be able to do anything with this in the way."

I need to take my shirt off? As in actually take my shirt off in front of all these people? Hell no, that isn't happening. You rubbed your hand automatically over the scar on your chest knowing there was more just like it over the rest of your stomach. You didn't want these people to see the scars, you didn't want their pity, you didn't want them to think you're weak, to think you're any less of a person.

"Does my shirt have to come off?" You asked softly staring at your hands as you fiddled with your leather bracelet, avoiding eye contact with the strangers in the room.

"I can't look at the wound let alone take the bullet out and stitch it with your shirt on." Hershel simply answered and you shook your head.

"I want everyone else out of the room then." You stated still not looking up, not wanting to see the confusion or judgement on their faces. It took a few seconds before anyone said anything before Hershel told everyone to leave the room.

"Ya sure that's a good idea? We don't know this woman." Daryl commented stopping at the door looking over at you and Hershel by the bed and the older man nodded. "Alright, I will be outside the door, if ya need anythin'"

You watched as the door closed behind him before unbuttoning your shirt and slowly taking it off.

You refused to look at Hershel after hearing him sigh and you knew he was looking at the scars. They weren't pretty, they were rough, long and pink and stood out against your skin.

"Don't tell anyone. Please." You whispered as Hershel finished wiping away the dry blood around the wound.

"There's nothing for me to tell, it's nobody else's business."

"Thanks. I'm Y/N by the way." You replied with a soft smile looking over at Hershel who nodded in return before looking closer at the bullet wound in your shoulder.

"I'm sorry Y/N but the bullet is in fairly deep, this is really going to hurt but I need to pull it out and you need to stay still otherwise I could do more damage than good." Hershel said with an apologetic smile and you nodded knowing this was coming as you took a deep breath turning away as he began digging the bullet out. You lasted a full two seconds before a scream left your lips from the agonising pain while trying to force yourself to sit still which clearly wasn't working.

"Daryl! Get in here." Hershel shouted but before you could protest he continued digging for the bullet forcing a whimper to escape your lips as Daryl rushed into the room pausing for a split second as his eyes gazed down your body taking in the scars. You expected to see disgust or pity in his eyes but you didn't, it was something different but you couldn't work out what.

Daryl felt a chill run down his spin as he took in the scars scattered over the girls stomach and chest, bringing up old memories memories that he'd rather forget. He felt a surge of anger wash over him when he saw the ashamed expression on your face, who would do such a thing to the poor girl?

"Daryl, what's happening?" Ricks voice suddenly asked rushing into the room after hearing Hershel shout. He placed his hand on Daryl's shoulder making him snap into action rushing over the bed.

"Hold her still, if she keeps moving I could do permanent damage." Hershel ordered and without hesitation the two men reach the bed kneeling either side, neither wanting to hurt you anymore than you already were but knowing they needed to hold you down. Daryl grabbed you first. His hands were gentle but still firm as he tried his best to keep you still as Rick followed his lead, holding your good shoulder as he nodded for Hershel to continue.

"What's your name?" Rick questioned as you squeezed your eyes shut from the overwhelming pain. You knew he was trying to get you to talk, to distract you from what Hershel was doing but you didn't answer straight away too busy trying not to pass out from the pain.

"Y/N." You winced looking down at your shoulder but quickly regretting it when you saw a metal tool digging into the bullet hole with fresh blood seeping down your shoulder.

"I'm Rick and that is Daryl. How... how did you find Sophia and how did you find us?"

"Was just hunting in the woods and I heard her- God damnit" You muttered squeezing your eyes shut again from the sudden spike of pain. "She was being chased by walkers so I helped her and when she told me that she lost her group, that she lost her mother... I just had to get her back to them, so here I am." You said with a soft chuckle which turned into grimace causing Daryl to glare at Hershel who shook his head.

"Give me a few more minutes, the bullet is in deep." Hershel stated glancing over the two men before focusing back on the task at hand.

"How'd this even happen? Was Sophia with you?" Rick asked and you nodded getting slightly annoyed with all the questions but knowing he was only trying to help.

"I was with Sophia for a few days before finding you guys, this happened yesterday." You said nodding towards your shoulder.

"Who shot ya?" Daryl asked and you weren't sure if you were hearing things but he almost sounded angry, why would he be angry about this? He doesn't even know me.

"Was it the same person who did this?" Rick questioned motioning towards the scars on your body causing you to instantly look away from him staring at the wall on the other side of the room. It was only a matter of time before one of the guys would bring the topic up, especially since you were literally lying on the bed in jeans and a bra exposing the scars.

"Rick." Daryl muttered in a warning tone and you saw him shake his head out the corner of your eye. "Ya don't have to talk about that if ya don't wanna." Daryl said softly gripping your shoulder tighter as Hershel finally pulled the bullet out causing you groan in pain as your body began to relax once the pain died down.

"Daryl hold this against the wound I need to go get the stuff to stitch it." Hershel ordered handing Daryl a bandage as he leant closer to you, holding the bandage against your shoulder as Rick let you go, standing up.

"I spoke quickly to my group after I gave Sophia to her mother and they are all happy for you to stay here, with us as apart of the group. I don't say this to everyone we meet, this group, they are my family, my wife and boy are here and even though the others aren't blood they ARE my family. Most of us met during the beginning of all of this when the whole world went to shit. We came to this farm after my boy was shot by one of the farmers, it was an accident and Hershel saved his life and we have been here ever since. This place is as close to safe as you can get in this world, so if you want to stay you can stay with our group outside." Rick said folding his arms across his chest, he glanced over at Daryl who nodded his approval still holding the bandage which was now stained with blood.

"I- I'm not good with people... To be honest this is the longest conversation I have had with someone for God knows how long and I don't know how well I will be with your group, there's a lot of you. But I can't go back out there, this world... its dangerous. The walkers are the least of your problems out there, its other people who you need to be wary of, its either kill or be killed when you're out there."

"Which is why I am giving you this offer. You can clearly take care of yourself, you know how to hunt and seem to know how to handle different weapons. We could use your skills to help the group, what do you say?"

You stared at him for a few seconds trying to figure out what his angle was, nobody does anything for strangers unless they had an angle where they could use you to benefit themselves. But as you glanced over at Daryl who was watching you with a soft expression you realised that these people were different. Maybe not that Shane guy, but Rick and Daryl were good men and you were almost certain the rest of his group were just like them.

"Alright."

Rick nodded but there was something with his expression like he was trying to say something but couldn't put the words together in his head. You watched him curiously before he rubbed his face with his hands letting out a sigh.

"But this is Hershels farm. Him and his family took my group in and we follow his rules, no if, buts or maybes. This is his land and he may do things or believe things that we don't agree with but there is nothing we can do about it." Rick stated and Daryl looked away from him, keeping his expression neutral but you could sense a change in his mood.

"What has Hershel done that you guys don't agree with?" You questioned biting your lip to stop yourself from smiling after seeing Ricks shocked expression that you figured out what he was referring to.

He glanced towards the door making sure nobody else was in the room before explaining. He told you that Hershel believed the walkers were still people, he doesn't kill them because he believes they will come back, that this is just a sickness that can be fixed. You took in the information keeping a stone expression until he told you that he had walkers locked up in the barn. He told you his group only found out this morning, which was obviously what they were arguing about when you saw his group by the barn. He told you he would try to talk to Hershel about it, to try find a better solution because its pretty obvious that the barn was old and its only a matter of time before they get out. You understood that this needed to be handled carefully, it was clearly an edgy topic to talk about with the Greene family and if Hershel really wanted to, he could easily kick you all out which you were not going to let happen.

Hershel eventually came back with the right supplies and stitched up the wound, giving you some antibiotics so it didn't get infected. A short time after that you fell asleep on the bed, exhausted from the little sleep you have gotten the past few nights while looking out for Sophia.

-

"How's she doing?" Carol asked from the door way of the room, glancing at Daryl who was standing by the window before looking back at your sleeping form under the blankets.

"She's a tough son of a bitch." Daryl muttered glancing over at you before turning back to Carol who was still looking at you. "How's Sophia?"

"Good. Really good, she's playing some sort of card game with Carl at the moment... I just can't believe my baby is back. You were right, she was out there. You were right this whole time." Carol commented and Daryl nodded looking back over at you causing Carol to smile noticing the way he was looking at you.

"Rick said Y/N needed a new shirt, I bought over these figuring she liked flannel shirts. I just hope it fits." Carol said placing the flannel shirt and a grey singlet on the bedside table for when you wake up. "I can stay here and watch her if you want to go get some fresh air or something."

"Nah it's alright, I told Rick I'd keep an eye on her while he's helping Hershel with something." Daryl replied and Carol nodded before leaving the room, shutting the door quietly behind herself as she did.

A few minutes passed before you started to wake up, it took you a few seconds to remember where you were, realising you must have fallen asleep. There was a dull pain thumping in your shoulder, but it wasn't enough to bother you, you've had worse, you could handle a little pain.

Glancing around the room you spotted Daryl leaning against the wall looking out the window and your eyes instantly fell to the angel wings sown to the back of his vest, it suited him. You watched him for a few minutes noticing he was biting his thumb again, it must be a habit of his.

"Ya gonna keep staring or are ya gonna say something." Daryl muttered still staring out the window as you mentally kicked yourself, feeling your cheeks blush slightly at being caught.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare." You replied not knowing what else to say as you brushed your Y/H/C hair out of your face watching as Daryl turned around walking towards you. You instinctively sat up in bed holding the sheets against your body, moving slightly away from him as he walked towards you.

He stopped in his tracks noticing your reaction. He wasn't sure if you reacted that way because you weren't use to being around people or because there was a deeper personal reason behind it. He saw the scars on your body, he felt the way you flinched when he touched you earlier, he saw all the signs that pointed to some sort of abusive background but he hoped he was wrong, he really hoped he was wrong.

"I ain't gonna hurt ya." Daryl stated holding his hands out in attempt to show you, knowing actions worked better than just words.

"Speak for yourself. Your friend Shane wanted to kill me earlier." You replied.

"He ain't my friend."

"Good because he's a dick." You commented dryly noticing the corners of Daryl's lips curl up slightly at your comment before he walked over to the bedside table.

"Carol bought over some clothes, she's Sophia's mother." He said handing you the clothes and you smiled liking the look of the black and white flannel shirt. You looked over at Daryl with a slight blush creeping over your cheeks as you looked back down at the clothes not wanting to put them on while he was watching.

"Oh right... umm I'll be just outside, come out when you're ready and I'll introduce ya to the group." He said rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, looking at you for another second before leaving the room, closing the door behind himself.


	4. Chapter 4

You met most of Ricks group and the Greene family and although you had a good memory you were struggling to remember all their names. They were all nice people though  
and you were glad you hadn't seen Shane again yet, that man just gave you a bad feeling, you weren't sure why but something about him sent shivers down your spin.

"So, what did you do before all of this?" Maggie asked sitting down on the porch steps as you leant against the veranda railing with Glen, Andrea, Beth, Patricia, Lori, Carl, Carol, Sophia, T-Dog and Daryl. They were all talking amongst each other, laughing and sharing stories. You stood there happily listening to them talking, stealing glances over at Daryl who was leaning against the other veranda post listening to the others talk as well. You noticed he wasn't a big talker which was something you liked, most people hated silence, but you welcomed it.

"Nothing really." You replied looking down at your boots not liking how the attention was suddenly on you.

"Come on, surely you did something? I was only a housewife but that's still something." Carol said and the others hummed in agreement and you sighed looking across at Maggie who was waiting patiently for a reply.

"My parents were both doctors and wanted me to follow in their footsteps." You began to say when Sophia started talking.

"You're a doctor?" She questioned with excitement, but you shook your head looking back down at your boots.

"No, I worked at a motorcycle garage before all this. My parents wouldn't talk to me for like a month once they found out." You answered causing Daryl to turn his head towards you in interest as you smiled at him before turning back to Maggie when you saw someone marching up the dirt road holding a bag. It only took a few seconds before you realised it was Shane and that the bag was full of guns.

"Oh, here we go." Someone muttered as you all turned your attention towards Shane who looked to be on a mission as he walked quickly towards all of you. You weren't sure what he was planning on doing but you had a bad feeling about whatever was gonna happen next. You followed Daryl as he walked down the steps towards Shane, the others all standing up wanting to know whats happening.

"Whats all this?" Someone questioned as Shane opened up the bag pulling out a pump action shotgun and holding it out for Daryl.

"You with me man?" He asked in a serious tone like something was about to go down, but you had no idea what. You swore Rick had said you weren't allowed guns on Hershel's farm unless you were going out, so why does Shane have a bag full of them. Where's Rick?

"Yeah." Daryl growled taking the gun from him as he checked the chamber before looking back over at Shane who was now looking at Andrea.

"Time to grow up. You already got yours?" He asked and Andrea nodded pulling out a handgun similar to yours... which Rick had taken, damn it.

"Thought we weren't allowed to carry?" She asked as if reading your mind and Shane shook his head as he shoved a double barrel shotgun towards you, bumping your shoulder with the gun making you wince as you grabbed it from him.

"We can and we have to. Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe. But now we know it ain't. How about you man? You gonna protect yours?" He asked handing another double barrel to Glen who nodded and suddenly you realised this was about the barn full of walkers. "That's it. Can you shoot?"

"Can you stop? You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight!" Maggie stated firmly and you nodded with agreement, not liking this.

"Take this Carl, you take this gun and keep your mother safe." Shane ordered handing a small pistol to the young boy and it wasn't that you were against kids using guns, you agreed that they needed to learn to protect themselves, but it was the parents choice and by the shocked and angry expression on Lori's face you knew she wasn't okay with this.

"Rick said no guns. This is not your call." You stated firmly staring at Shane who turned around to you in disbelief.

"The fuck do you know about this, woman? You haven't even been here a day yet and you think you know everything!" Shane snapped taking a few steps closer to you in fury as Daryl took a step towards him, slightly blocking him from getting to you.

"Back off man." Daryl warned but before Shane could respond his eyes caught sight of something behind the two of you. You both turned around to find Rick, Hershel and some other guy walking out from the woods with two walkers on what looked to be like some sort of pole like leashes. So that's how they got the walkers into the barn.

"What is that? What is that?!" Shane yelled as he began running towards them and without hesitation you raced after him knowing this wasn't going to end well.

"Shane!" You heard Lori shout from somewhere behind you as you all ran towards Rick and Hershel who were walking towards the barn.

"What the hell are you doing?" Shane questioned as he caught up to them in anger.

"Shane, just back off." Rick warned as you and Daryl reached them, the others close behind.

"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel questioned looking over at the group as they all reached them while Shane angrily marched around Hershel and Rick who were trying to control the walkers.

"Are you kidding me? You see? You see what they're holding onto?" Shane yelled. "These things ain't sick. They're not people. They're dead. Ain't gonna feel nothing for them 'cause all they do, they kill! They killed Amy. They killed Otis. They're gonna kill all of us."

"Shane, shut up!" Rick shouted and you prayed silently that Shane would listen. You agreed with everything he said but this was Hershel's land and he was dealing with the situation the wrong way.

"Hey, Hershel man, let me ask you something. Could a living breathing person, could they walk away from this?" Shane questioned as he shot the walker he was handling in the chest. "That's three rounds in the chest. Could someone who's alive just take that?! Why is it still coming?" He questioned as he continued to shoot the walker in the stomach. "That's its heart, its lungs. Why is it still coming?"

"Shane, enough!" Rick shouted unable to do anything as he was still trying to control his walker on the pole.

"Yeah, you're right man. That is enough." Shane stated as he walked over to the walker before firing a bullet through its head causing the Greene family to all gasp putting their hands over their mouths and your heart broke for them. They all thought of these things as people, even though they were wrong they thought they were right and you could only imagine how painful this must be for them. "Enough of living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us. Enough. Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now if y'all want to live, if you want to survive, you got to fight for it! I'm talking about fighting right here, right now!"

"Hershel, take the snare pole!" Rick shouted as you watched Shane run over towards the barn. He isn't seriously going to open the door, right?

"Carol, Lori, keep the kids behind us!" You ordered as you took a few steps forward loading the shotgun as Daryl and T-Dog followed your lead, all raising their guns towards the barn door. Rick continued to yell at Shane, but you knew it was no use, he wasn't going to stop now. There was only one way this was going to end and Hershel will not be happy.

A second later Shane stepped back from the barn after smashing the locks, Rick and the others still yelling but it was too late. The walkers were already making their way out and before long the four of you started firing off bullets. Andrea and Glen joined in taking down the walkers as you heard the Greene family crying behind you. You reloaded the shotgun after a few seconds before you began shooting again, the recoil of the double barrel was stronger than you expected but it was nothing you couldn't handle. Your dad taught how to shoot various guns which included shotguns but that still didn't stop the recoil of the gun jolting your body, causing your bullet wound to erupt in pain after every shot. You were pretty sure the only thing stopping you from dropping the gun after every painful shot was the adrenaline sawing through your body.

Eventually the last walker dropped to the ground and you all stood there motionless until Beth started running over towards the walkers on the ground. You weren't sure what she was doing but once she dropped down on the ground calling for her mother your heart broke. You looked away unable to see the girl like that until she started screaming, you turned around to find her dead mother now grabbing at her as the guys tried to pull her off.

"Beth!" You shouted as you rushed over to them realising the guys weren't getting anywhere with the pulling technique, so you quickly pulled your hunting knife out your belt, stabbing the walker in the head, finishing it once and for all.

"Beth are you alright?" Someone tried to ask but she didn't answer, rushing over towards her family as they all huddled together and began heading back to the farm house.

-

The next day they had a small funeral for the loved ones lost that day, it was a nice send off for the Greene family members finally able to rest in peace. After the funeral everyone went their own ways, T-Dog, Shane and Andrea all volunteered to burn the rest of the walkers bodies, while Carol, Sophia, Lori, Carl and Rick all followed the Greene family back to the farm house wanting to help them out during this tough time. You weren't sure where Daryl went though, he walked off after the funeral but you didn't see where. So with nothing better to do you decided to head towards the camp area figuring you should actually set up your tent that Maggie had given you this morning along with a few other things like spare clothes and stuff in a small bag. You wanted to set up your own tent so you didn't have to share Carol and Sophia's tent like you did last night, it wasn't bad sharing with them but you preferred to be alone.

Once you entered the camp you walked into Carols tent spotting your backpack, compound bow, handgun, sleeping bag, a larger looking bag which you assumed had your tent inside. You sighed with relief, happy that none of your belongings had gone missing before you grabbed everything and made your way to the far side of the camp. Ricks camp was set up nicely, different tents set up along side each other and a small camp fire pit in the middle of the camp where you saw a bunch of pots and pans set up, figuring that was like there own makeshift kitchen. You smiled spotting a couple board games and kids drawings on a few pieces of paper near one of the tents. There was a large RV on the other side of the camp which you found out belonged to Dale. On the roof of the RV there was a deck chair and umbrella obviously for people to sit while on watch.

You walked around the camp for a few minutes until you spotted a couple of trees and a stack of bricks that looked to be what was left of an old chimney. It was about 10-20 metres away from the rest of the camp allowing you to be by yourself but still apart of the group. You had no issues with the group, they were all nice and wanted to get to know you better but you didn't like all the attention. You weren't use to being around so many people at once and the drama that goes on in the group just reminded you of school... the whole world can turn to shit, yet drama still occurs in friend groups, who would have thought?

After 10 minutes you had your tent set up next to the larger tree figuring that it would block some of the wind on windy days. You had your bow leaning against the stack of bricks while you leant against the bricks as you cleaned your arrows with the rag you kept in your backpack.

"You don't have to be out here, there's plenty of room with the rest of the tents." Carol said and you looked up to find her walking towards you with a smile and you shrugged your shoulders.

"I'd rather be on my own, I don't think I even know how to socialise with people anymore." You admitted with soft laugh as you put the arrow down looking over at Carol.

"You're doing fine so far, even though the most you have talked within the group was when you were yelling at Shane." Carol said with a laugh and you nodded. "Don't worry everyone understands that you need a bit of space, it must have been just horrible out there on your own through all of this... I don't even know how you survived out there, I defiantly wouldn't be able to last a week on my own."

"I grew up hunting and camping, so its not so hard for me." You simply replied as you clipped your arrows back into the quiver that you had attached to your bow.

"Rick and Glen are going into town in a couple of minutes. Hershel just disappeared a few hours ago and they think he's at the local bar and Beth is in some sort of state of shock, she just collapsed and isn't responding to anything. So they're going to get Hershel because he would know what to do." Carol finally said after a few minutes and your eyes went wide at the sudden information.

"Shit that poor girl, I could go with them to town if they need more people?" You suggested but Carol shook her head.

"Your shoulder is still healing, the boys have it handled." She replied and you sighed but nodded, knowing you needed to let your shoulder heal. "Andrea, Lori and I are going to cook tea for everyone tonight, please join us in the house for tea, I don't want you to pull away from the group when you just got here. You're a good person."

"You don't even know me." You commented as you sat down against the bricks looking up at her and she shook her head.

"I know that you risked your life to save a random girl in the woods. I know you got shot while saving that little girl, my daughter, from a couple of bad guys. I know that you protected this group yesterday when you took down those walkers at the barn and you saved Beth's life when she was grabbed by a walker. I may not know a lot about you, but I know you are good person Y/N. I can't even begin to imagine what you have been through out there but you're with us now and I'm here if you ever want to talk and I know Daryl is too." Carol stated causing you to stare up at her in confusion, Daryl? Why would Daryl care about me? He hasn't spoken to me since I got up after getting stitches yesterday.

"Daryl?" You asked making sure you heard her correctly and Carol laughed with a nod.

"Yes Daryl. I know he can be hot tempered sometimes and has this hard shell around him. But he isn't all tough guy, after he lost his brother he changed. He's changed into a more caring, loyal member of the group, he's basically Ricks right hand man other than Shane. He doesn't let people see the real him, the man under all tough guy exterior, I've only caught glimpses of it but I know you have seen it. He helped you when you first arrived and when I came to drop off some clothes for you he was right there, making sure you were okay and being looked after. He has taken a liking to you Y/N, just promise me you will do good by him alright? Life has thrown a lot of curve balls at him, he deserves to be happy and I'm starting to think you might be good for him." Carol said and you nodded looking over towards the camp where you could see Daryl walking around, glancing over at the two of you every couple of seconds.

"I promise Carol." You replied giving her a smile and she nodded before walking off back towards the camp. You watched as Daryl walked up to her but you couldn't hear what they were talking about, so you picked your bow back up and began cleaning the arrows again.

_*Meanwhile*_

"Is she alright?" Daryl muttered biting his thumb as he looked over at you sitting down with your bow in your lap.

"Why don't you go over there and ask her yourself?" Carol teased with a smirk as she began taking the laundry off the clothes line while Daryl leant against the tree sneaking glances in your direction. "She's a nice girl, she just needs some space from people. I think having so many of us around is a bit overwhelming for her."

"I know the feeling. I was gonna move my stuff near that stack of bricks to get away from all this damn camp drama, but it looks like she beat me to it." Daryl mumbled as he fixed the strap on his crossbow around his shoulder.

"Stop talking about her and just go talk to her."

"Nah she ain't interested in some redneck like me, she hasn't said a word to me since yesterday anyway." Daryl replied and Carol rolled her eyes.

"You two are killing me, just go talk to her. She won't speak first and I know you won't either unless I make you, so go." Carol ordered as she took the last of the clothes off the line but Daryl shook his head. "Fine, just stand there staring at her, I'm gonna go sort these clothes out in the house and check on Beth." Carol replied walking towards the house leaving Daryl standing there watching you with curiosity, he wasn't sure what it was about you but something had him hooked to you. Maybe it was the way you weren't afraid to speak your mind, especially when you shouted at Shane even though he had a gun pointed at you. Maybe it was because you weren't like most people, you were quiet and had a sort of mysterious vibe about you that just kept drawing him in. Maybe it was because you could shoot a bow and knew how to handle guns, even though at first he had his doubts when you got given the shotgun yesterday, but after you began shooting he straight away realised you knew more than most people about guns. Truth be told he wasn't sure what it was about you that kept him wanting to get to know you better, and he had no idea what to do about it.


	5. Chapter 5

  
A few hours later you came back to your tent after going for a walk around the farm, you discovered a few water wells and a couple old sheds behind the farm house which were full of old machinery, but what really caught your eye was the old dirt bike parked in one of the sheds. You made a mental note to ask Maggie about the bike later, hoping you might be able to take it for a ride. You knew Daryl had a nice Triumph motorcycle parked near the camp but you weren't to sure if he'd let you ride it or not.

You looked back towards the camp after hearing shouting and spotted Lori and Daryl standing by a tent, but Daryl didn't look to happy at whatever she was saying so you made your way over there.

"Ya want him? Fetch him yourself. I got better things to do." You heard Daryl say and you instantly knew they were talking about Rick.

"What's the matter with you? Don't be so selfish," Lori replied as you began walking over to the two of them.

"Selfish? Listen to me Olive Oil. I was out there looking for that little girl every single day. I took a bullet and an arrow in the process. Don't ya tell me about getting my hands dirty! Ya want those two idiots? Have a nice ride. I'm done lookin' for people." Daryl shouted angrily as he paced backwards and forwards trying to control his temper.

"Hey, Lori!" You shouted as you jogged the rest of the way towards them as they both looked in your direction after hearing you call out. "I can go bring Rick and Hershel back, they are probably already heading back now and I will meet them on the road. Don't worry I will get them, just give me a second and I will head off."

"Thank you so much Y/N." Lori said with relief giving you a quick hug which caused you to freeze for a slight moment before returning the hug. You waited for her to walk away before you turned around to Daryl who was now sitting down sharpening the end of a stick with his knife.

"Ya really gonna go out there just 'cause she asked ya to?" Daryl muttered not looking up at you as he focused on the stick.

"Yes I am. She's worried about her husband and Beth needs Hershel, so yes I am going to go bring them back." You replied sternly getting slightly annoyed with his tone as he continued cutting the stick not bothering to reply to you. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What?" Daryl questioned looking up from the stick towards you and you shook your head.

"You heard me." You stated firmly as you folded your arms across your chest. "You didn't have to snap at Lori like that, yes she may have been out of line, but that gives you no right to talk to her that way. She is just worried about Rick, you didn't have to be an asshole about it."

"Well maybe that's just who I am." He replied dryly and you shook your head not believing a word he said.

"That's not who you are. What happened to the man who helped me when I first arrived here? The man who stayed in the room with me until I woke up making sure I was okay? The man who told Shane to back off when he was yelling me? Where did that man go? You haven't spoken to me since I came out of that bedroom after I woke up... I actually thought you cared about me, but I guess I was wrong" You said, not really intending on saying all of that but once you started talking you couldn't stop.

"What the hell do ya want with me woman? Can't ya just leave me alone!" Daryl growled staring up at you in anger and you just nodded before walking off towards one of the cars, trying to forget about everything that just happened as you sped off towards the town to find Rick.

-

"I don't see why you can't make room for a few more. We can pool our resources, our manpower." Dave said taking another sip of his drink, but Rick shook his head glancing over at Hershel and Glen on the other side of the bar. These men wanted to come back to the farm and join the group but Rick knew better than to trust strangers. 

"Look, I'm sorry. That's not an option." Rick replied glancing over at the other guy who was taking a piss in the corner of the room.

"Doesn't sound like much of a problem." The man replied but this time Hershel started talking.

"We can't. We can't take in anymore."

"You guys are something else. I thought... I thought we were friends." The man said but before Rick could reply the front door to the bar opened as you walked in.

"Hey Rick- holy shit." You stated as you walked through the door not even noticing the two men sitting at the small table to the left. Your eyes focused on Rick, Glen and Hershel's shocked expressions that you were here, but once you saw the two men you froze. It was Dave, your ex-boyfriend. Why is he here? Why is he talking to the Rick?

"That's no way to greet me! What's it been like two years?" Dave asked standing up from his chair towards you and you instinctively took a step backwards. 

"Wait do you two know each other?" Rick asked looking over at you for conformation and you nodded slightly, but Rick noticed your sudden change in expression, it's something he came across a lot back in his days as a Deputy when he came across women who had been hurt by their partners.

"She's my girlfriend!" Dave stated as he walked over to you but you quickly took another step back in response.

"We broke up. Don't come any closer to me." You warned holding your hand out as you tried to sound strong but inside you were freaking the hell out, the last time you saw him it didn't end well to say the least.

"It was only a minor misunderstanding you didn't actually mean it when we broke up. Come here." Dave said as he grabbed your waist pulling you in for a hug and without hesitation you punched him in the jaw, but that only made him angry as he slammed you into the wall behind you, pinning you against the wall with his forearm against your chest.

"I wouldn't if I was you." The bigger man said grabbing his shotgun when Rick made a move for his gun holster after watching the scene unfold in front of him. You looked over at Rick catching his eye and shook your head telling him to stand down.

"Don't you remember all the fun times we use to have? All those times in the barn late at night, just the two of us?" Dave said and you closed your eyes forcing the tears not spill. You remember, you remembered everything in detail and it was not fun.

"Like the time you drugged me and tied me up like a fucking animal?!" You spat which only made him angrier as he grabbed your wrists tightly holding them above your head and you knew his grip was going to leave bruises.

"Get your hands off her." Rick and Glen both shouted but Dave just laughed.

"You know what? I might have some fun with Y/N while you guys watch, take her down a trip to memory lane." Dave said and you saw the panic beginning to rise in Ricks face, you couldn't see Hershel or Glen from where you were standing but you could only imagine their expressions.

"Don't look at them. Look at me." Dave said moving his hands so that only one of his hands were holding your wrists above your head while he grabbed your jaw with his other hand as he forced his lips against yours, kissing you harshly. You could hear Rick yelling in the background but you knew he couldn't do anything, the two guys were armed and if Rick started shooting then Dave would shoot you before Rick could finish the job.

"Remember this feeling." Dave said as his hand slowly began to slide down your pants. You could feel a panic attack rising in your body as your heart beat skyrocketed, fearing that everything you tried to forget, all the things he had done to you in the past that you tried to bury were going to come back and make history repeat itself. No, you weren't going to let that happen. You are stronger now. You were a survivor and you are done with letting him hurt you.

"Fuck you." You muttered as you slammed your knee up in the direction of his crutch causing him to drop to the ground when you hit the target. "Rick!" You yelled as you pulled your handgun out from your belt firing at Dave killing him instantly. You heard a second gunshot and you looked up to see Rick holding his pistol up as the other man fell to the floor. Glen and Hershel stood there motionless at the scene that just unfolded, both staring wide eyed at the dead bodies on the floor.

"Hey, Y/N? Are you alright?" Rick asked softly as he walked over to you and you nodded looking down at the ground not wanting to meet his gaze. "Hey, it's okay. Lets go home." Rick said putting his hand cautiously on your good shoulder with a soft smile and you nodded.

"Glen. Hershel. You guys okay?" Rick questioned turning to the other men who were already walking towards the two of you and they both nodded clearly shaken by the whole encounter, but suddenly everyone froze when car lights shone through the curtains of the bar.

"Car! Get down." Rick whispered pulling you down to the ground with him as the two of you sat next to each other, backs against the wall with Glen and Hershel sitting on the other side of the door doing the same thing.

"Dave? Tony?" Voices outside called and your heart dropped, they had other people with them. Shit.

"I'm telling you man, I heard shots. We're looking for Dave and Tony and no one checks the damn bar?" The voice shouted and you turned to Rick who pulled his gun out and you did the same aiming it towards the door when suddenly Glen slammed his body against the door stopping the men from entering. "Yo, is there someone in there? We don't want no trouble we're just looking for our friends."

"They drew on us!" Rick shouted and you dropped your head, there was no way these guys would leave now that they knew you were in the bar, there's only four of us and who knows how many of them! Damn it Rick.

"Dave and Tony in there? They alive?" A voice questioned, but you could tell he was getting closer to the bar with each word, what the hell are we gonna do?

"No."

"They killed Dave and Tony. Come on man, lets go." One of the voices said. Yes, listen to your friend and go, please just go.

"No, I'm not leaving." The other man said and you sighed leaning your head back against the wall.

"Your friends drew on us! They gave us no choice. I'm sure we've all lost enough people, done things we wish we didn't have to, but it's like that now. You know that! So lets just chalk this up to what it was, wrong place, wrong-" Rick started to yell before he stood up and began firing shots through the window in their general direction. Without thinking twice you followed his lead, firing off bullets through the window even though you had no clue where the men were. "Get out of here! Use the backdoor, Glen see if you can make a run for the car out back." Rick ordered and you glanced over at Glen who was now on the other side of the bar with a terrified look on his face.

"I can do it." You suddenly said as you reloaded your handgun before looking back over at Rick who shook his head.

"You have been through enough tonight. Glen is fast, he can get the car around here and then we'll get the hell out of here." Rick replied and you nodded looking down at your wrists that were already starting to bruise from Dave's grip.

"I'll cover him while he makes a run for it, you guys stay here and guard this exit." You said looking between Rick and Hershel before following Glen down the back.

You raised your gun, as Glen opened the back door quietly as he stuck his head out to make sure the coast was clear. After a few seconds he turned to you with a nod as you walked up behind him before he ran out in the direction of the cars when sudden gun fire broke out. You watched as he ducked behind some sort of garbage bin and once you thought he was safe you quickly looked towards the gun fire spotting the idiot standing out in the open before you pulled the trigger.

"Glen! Y/N!" Rick shouted in panic after hearing the gun fire, not knowing who shot who.

"Over here! I'm okay but Glen is down behind the dumpster, I don't know if he got hit or not." You quickly said after Rick and Hershel appeared behind you. "I'll cover you, go check on him." You said and Rick nodded as he dashed out the door, dropping down behind the dumpster out of sight leaving you and Hershel standing in the doorway, not knowing what to do next.

The rest of the night went by in a blur. Glen was okay, thank God. But the bad guys had driven away which would have been good, but they left one of their men behind who was stuck lying on top of a bin with his leg skewered with a spike from a fence. You told Rick to just kill him, he was with Dave and his group and they weren't good people, but Rick couldn't kill a kid, you knew that. So you stopped talking, knowing whatever you said wouldn't be listened to as Hershel and Rick tried freeing the kid from the fence spike as you and Glen started firing at the walkers that were getting too close.


	6. Chapter 6

You don't even remember getting into the car or when the sun began to rise along the horizon. All you could think about was Dave and how close you came to being his pet again. You knew exactly what he would have done to you if you didn't kill him first and Rick knew it as well, which is why he kept glancing over at you in the passenger seat as he drove the four of you plus the kid they saved, Randall, back home.

"Hey, Y/N? You with us?" Ricks voice suddenly asked bringing you out of the horrid memories as you nodded still staring out the window not wanting to look at him. "Hershel can look over your wrists and check that shoulder of yours to make sure the stitches are still secure after what happened."

"No. I'm fine." You muttered as you spotted the farm house coming into view, you could see everyone standing by a car in front of the house and they all looked relieved once they say your car approaching.

"Dad! You're okay!" You heard Carl shout as Rick parked the car in front of the house. You all climbed out the car as Hershel told Patricia to prepare the shed for surgery for Randall who Rick managed to get free from the fence.

You climbed out the car slowly, your legs feeling a bit wavy from the past events. You grabbed the side of the car for few seconds forcing yourself to take a deep breath, knowing there was no point getting worked up in front of everyone. Dave is dead. It's over, you needed to toughen up.

You glanced over at the group, they were all focused on Rick as he hugged Lori and Carl but Daryl was looking at you. You couldn't quite read his expression, but you could tell he was trying to read yours and you quickly looked away not wanting him to somehow workout what happened back in the bar. You glanced over at Randall tied up in the backseat of the car before you walked off, not wanting any part of what happens to the kid.

"Y/N?" Daryl voice called but you didn't turn around, you just kept walking heading towards the camp, wanting nothing more than to be away from everyone.

"Daryl let her go, she needs some space for a while." Rick said letting go of Lori as he walked over to Daryl putting his hand on the other mans shoulder. "Two guys found us in the bar and shit hit the fan. Y/N copped most of it."

"What did they do to her?" Daryl questioned softly feeling a surge of anger and guilt wash over him, it should have been him, not Y/N. He should have said yes to Lori, but instead he made a big deal out of it and now Y/N most likely hated him for snapping at her last night and he deserved it.

"One of the men he was forcing himself on her and... its not my place to say, she probably doesn't want anyone knowing." Rick whispered and Daryl shook his head.

"They didn't... he didn't ra-" Daryl began to ask, but Rick quickly shook his head and Daryl sighed with relief.

"Look I know you care about this woman, but right I need you to help me with Randall, this kid. He was part of the guys group but they left him behind. I need you to help me deal with him, I don't trust Shane with him." Rick admitted softly as he let go of Daryl's shoulder and he nodded, glancing in the direction you had walked before turning back to Rick to help him get Randall to Hershel.

-

Once Hershel said that Randall was stable Daryl, Rick and Shane moved him into the old wooden shed, handcuffing him to a metal pipe so he wouldn't get free. Randall as expected begged for his life, but Rick wouldn't have any of it and locked the shed door behind them. Shane wasn't happy with having him locked in the shed just 200 metres away from camp, but there was nothing else they could do other than kill the kid. Daryl knew Rick didn't want to do that, but he also knew that was the only option Shane wanted to take. So he remained quiet while the two argued waiting for them to finish before Rick and Shane headed back to the farm house to let everyone know what's happening, while Daryl headed towards the camp making his way over to Y/N's tent on the other side.

He could hear bricks being smashed before he even reached her tent, he froze listening to the bricks falling and clanging together and it took him a few seconds before he realised what was making those noises. It was Y/N.

"Y/N?" Daryl called softly as he made his way past her tent towards the stack of bricks a few metres away when he spotted her throwing and kicking the bricks in frustration. He watched for a couple more seconds thinking she needed something to take her anger out on, but once he saw the tears in your eyes he knew there was more to it than just anger.

"Hey, Y/N." Daryl said again moving towards you slowly but you didn't hear him, you didn't hear anything. All you could think about was the things Dave had done to you, his hands roaming over your body as you sat there tied up completely at his mercy. All the times he punished you with his belt when you wouldn't do as he said, resulting in him hitting you with any object in arms reach until your skin bled. All the times he would pick you up from your house acting like the nicest man in the world in front of your parents and how you thought he could change, but once you were away from the public eye it was always the same.

"Y/N, stop." Daryl said slightly louder catching your attention as you met his gaze, your teary red eyes meeting his worried blue ones. But you couldn't hold it together anymore and your tears began falling down your cheeks as you dropped the brick you were holding with shaky hands not knowing you were even holding it to begin with. "Its okay." Daryl said softly as you felt him grab you uninjured shoulder gently and when you showed no signs of pulling away he wrapped his arms around you pulling you into his chest as you began to cry.

He held you tightly not saying a word, letting you cry as his hand rested on the back of your head, his fingers combing through your hair gently trying to relax you. You weren't sure how long you stayed like that, but it must have been a while as the sun was beginning to set in the distance.

"I'm sorry." You whispered as you slowly pulled away wiping the tears from your eyes as you took a deep breath.

"S'okay, you have nothin' to apologise for." Daryl replied softly as he watched you rubbing your wrists gingerly which was when he spotted the deep red and purple bruising covering them. How did he not notice that earlier?

"Y/N..." He said softly his voice turning from calm to sad in seconds as he reached for your arms but you pulled them back. "Look, I'm sorry for bein' an asshole earlier, I shouldn't have yelled at ya like that but you were wrong. I do care about ya and I shouldn't have let ya go by yourself."

"It wasn't just you, I yelled at you as well and that wasn't fair. Can we just forget it ever happened?" You asked softly looking up at him and he nodded before glancing back down to your wrists and you sighed sitting down, leaning against the stack of bricks. "It was my ex and his friend. They were at the bar with Rick and the others when I got there. Dave, my ex, he thought we were still together. He thought I didn't mean it when I told him that we were done... he thought I was still his." You began to explain before stopping not knowing how to explain what you were feeling.

"And he did this?" Daryl muttered sitting down beside you reaching out for your hands, but this time you didn't pull away. You let Daryl grab your arms with a gentle grip as he traced his fingers softly over the bruises. You could feel your cheeks burning red as Daryl touched you, the butterfly's in your stomach going crazy as you watched his arm muscles tense with every movement. Your eyes wondered up to his face as you took in how attractive this man actually was. The slight scruff of hair on his chin, the cute little moles by his upper lip, his thick southern drawl, his rough exterior but kind heart, the list could go on. You watched him for a few more seconds before you remembered that he has asked you a question.

"Yeah. He had me up a against a wall and started kissing me and stuff..." You continued before stopping again thinking whether or not you should be telling him any of this.

"Hey, its alright. Ya don't have ta talk about it if ya don't want to." Daryl whispered, but you shook your head, you needed to tell someone about all this, you couldn't keep it bottled up any longer.

"I'm fine. Alright? I don't want your pity or sympathy or whatever because I'm okay. I'm fine." You began to say before you stopped trying to gather your words as Daryl sat there patiently waiting, staring off at the sunsetting along the horizon. "Dave and I started dating about year before this all happened and for the first few weeks it was perfect... but then he started getting aggressive and extremely protective. It got to the point where he would yell at me for talking to male customers at work, which was my job because most of the customers were male since it was a motorcycle garage. But it didn't stop there. Dave did things to me, things I don't even want to think about. But the crazy thing is, I still kept going back to him and I don't even know why. Maybe I thought he would change or that I could change him. Maybe I thought I deserved what he was doing to me, I don't know. But a month before all this began he nearly killed me, he drugged me and tied me up in one of his barns on his farm. I can't remember what happened and I honestly don't ever want to know. But when I woke up I was alone still in the barn, covered in my own blood from all cuts on my stomach and lying on the ground in front of me was some sort of whip with a fish hook attached to the end. It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened. My parents were away on a holiday and my little brother was at school. I knew if I went to a hospital they would ask questions and call my parents. I never thought I'd say this but I was actually glad my parents were doctors because we had medical supplies scattered all over the house. So I walked home and stitched up the worst of the cuts and bandaged the rest and by the time my brother came home on the school bus I was sitting on the couch watching tv like nothing ever happened." You explained and you didn't realise you were crying again until Daryl wrapped his arm around your shoulder, being careful not to pump the bullet wound as he pulled you towards him until your head was resting on his shoulder.

"I was wondering how ya got those scars. I had my money on a fight club. Ya seem like the kind of girl who can kickass." Daryl joked trying to get you to laugh which it did as you punched his thigh softly in response causing Daryl to smile. He knew what those kind of scars meant, he just never would have guessed they'd happen to such a beautiful, sweet girl like you.

"I didn't want anyone to know about the scars." You admitted as you wiped away the tears from your cheeks.

"Ya don't have to be ashamed of your scars Y/N. They don't make ya any less of a person or make ya any less beautiful. Your scars are daily reminders that ya survived and that you're stronger than what hurt ya in the past." Daryl said softly surprising you, not expecting him to say something.

"Easy for you to say when your stomach and chest doesn't look like something you'd see in a horror movie." You muttered and you felt Daryl shake his head before he began talking.

"My old man, he was a drunk." Daryl began to explain and you felt your heart sink in your chest realising where this story was heading. "He used to beat me and my older brother Merle with his belt against our backs. Whenever Merle got sent off to juvie for something stupid he would get angry and take it out on me... Ya ain't the only one with scars Y/N."

"Daryl I-" You began to say but he grunted in response pulling you in closer to him as you felt him kiss the top of your head.

"Like ya said before I don't want no pity either. Just wanted ya to know that you're not alone." He said and for the first time in years you let yourself get close to someone.

The next week went by in a flash, the two of you becoming inseparable. Whenever it was Daryl's turn to keep watch of Randall you were right there next to him outside the shed. Whenever you went out to scavenge supplies for the group Daryl would join you. You guys became a pretty good team, you could read each other better than anyone else and could communicate with only eye signals and hand gestures. Hunting became a thing the two of you would do every morning with your bows, sometimes you would track and he would follow behind keeping a look out for walkers, other times he would track and you would keep a look out.

Although, you had no idea what you and Daryl were, he had never asked you to be his girlfriend and the two of you had never kissed or anything minus that night when you two were sharing past stories and he kissed your forehead. He even shifted his tent and belongings next to your tent away from the others. You had no idea if you and Daryl were actually together or not but you didn't want to bring it up, you were both happy and that was all that mattered.


	7. Chapter 7

"So how do we do this? Just take a vote? Does it have to anonymous? How about majority rules?" Lori asked as the group gathered in the main room of the farm house to decide what to do with Randall. Everyone was spread out in the room, on chairs and tables and leaning against walls while you and Daryl stood behind Rick leaning against a cupboard.

"Well, lets just see where everybody stands, then we can talk through the options." Rick replied glancing around the room waiting for someone to speak up.

"Where I sit, there's only one way to move forward." Shane stated as he leant against the fireplace staring at Rick before turning to Dale as he began to talk.

"Killing him, right? I mean, why even bother to take a vote? Its clear which way the wind is blowing." Dale replied throwing his hands up in defeat.

"If people believe we should spare him, I wanna know." Rick answered crossing his arms over his chest waiting for others to speak their mind. The arguing went on for a while before someone asked how Rick would kill him.

"Shooting may be more humane." Rick replied after Shane suggested hanging the kid and you nodded. You wanted the kid gone but you didn't want him to be hung, that's just not right.

"What about the body? Do we bury him?" T-Dog questioned looking over at the group waiting for a suggestion.

"Hold on, hold on! You're talking about this like its already been decided." Dale suddenly said and you sighed getting annoyed with this argument that clearly wasn't going anywhere and Daryl clearly felt the same as he took a few steps towards the group.

"You've been talking all day, going around in circles. You just wanna go around in circles again?" Daryl asked in a frustrated tone as he made his way back to you. It felt like hours before the group made a decision which was to shoot Randall even though Dale clearly didn't agree as he stormed off leaving the room.

When the sun had set you, Daryl, Rick and Shane all went out to the shed to take care of the problem. Rick was going to be the one to kill him while you and Daryl held Randall up in front of Rick waiting for his word.

"Would you like to stand or kneel?" Rick asked but only got sobbing and crying as a response. You glanced over at Daryl who nodded as the two of you forced him on his knees taking a few steps away knowing blood will be splattered in a few seconds.

"Do you have any final words?" Rick asked but all Randall did was beg for his life some more and you shook your head. At least the kid was blindfolded so he couldn't see the gun pointed at his end, it would be over soon.

"Do it, dad." Carls voice suddenly said causing you to frown in confusion looking towards the shed door to see the boy standing there watching his father. "Do it."

"Are you kidding me? What'd I say to you? What did I say to you?" Shane questioned as he pulled Carl away taking him out the shed, but it didn't matter you could see the change in Ricks stance and expression. He wasn't going to kill Randall, he couldn't.

"Take him away." Rick muttered walking out the shed as you and Daryl exchanged a glance before handcuffing him back to the metal pipe. Neither of you said a word as you grabbed your bow from the ground. The two of you headed back towards the farm house where Rick would be telling the others about what's going to happen next.

"Well at least Dale will be happy Randall isn't dead." You commented trying to make light on the situation and Daryl nodded in agreement when a scream pierced through the cool night air. You both froze before taking off, running into the paddock where the scream came from.

As you got closer you could see a walker leaning over something in the paddock. You quickly bought your bow up firing an arrow through its forehead as Daryl continued to run towards the body on the ground. You took off running again after the shot and your heart dropped hearing Daryl's desperate voice shout.

"Help! Over here!" He shouted glancing over his shoulder towards the flashlights in the distance before he turned back to the body on the ground. "Hang in there, buddy." Daryl said softly as you reached his side and you gasped when you saw Dale lying on the ground, his entire stomach a mess of blood, guts and bite marks.

"Oh my God." You gasped dropping to your knees as you tried covered the bites to stop the bleeding but it wasn't working. "Hold on Dale, please." You begged, tears forming in your eyes as Rick and the rest suddenly appeared.

"Just listen to my voice. Listen to me, all right? Okay, hold on now" Rick said softly kneeling on the other side of Dale, his hands shaking as he shouted for Hershel. You felt Andrea drop down besides you and you stood up taking a few steps away letting the other woman have a moment with Dale, knowing he was like a father figure to her.

"What happened?" Hershel questioned rushing over to him but you shook your head, there was nothing Hershel could do and you knew it.

"What can we do? Can we move him?" Rick asked in a desperate voice but Hershel shook his head telling them that Dale won't make the trip. You felt tears run down your cheeks as you took a few more steps backwards feeling a sense of déjà vu unfolding, brining back memories of your little brother lying on the ground begging for you to stop the pain.

"He's suffering. Someone do something." Andrea cried and you bit your lip to stop yourself from crying. You only just got to know Dale yet he already meant so much to you, this whole group meant so much to you. Everyone was standing around Dale, all crying and sobbing knowing there was only one thing they could do.

You watched through watery eyes as Rick cocked his gun aiming it Dales head, but he couldn't do it, he couldn't pull the trigger. Suddenly Daryl's hand reached for the revolver and Rick nodded letting Daryl take the gun from him.

"Sorry brother." Daryl said before pulling the trigger ending the pain and suffering for the man everyone knew and loved. You stared at his body for a few seconds before you walked over to the walker on the ground as you pulled your arrow out. You felt someone tap your shoulder and you turned around to find Daryl standing besides you holding out his red rag, you looked up to his face and you could see the pain and grief in his eyes.

"Thanks." You said barely above a whisper as you took the rag and wiped down your arrow before handing the rag back as you clipped the arrow back into the quiver of your bow.

Nobody moved away for a few minutes, everyone still trying to process what the hell just happened before Glen asked what we were going to do now. Everyone looked over at Rick for an answer but he was too busy staring at Dales lifeless body in shock, it wasn't fair that all this pressure was on Rick all the time. You noticed the way Daryl stepped up a few moments earlier relieving Rick from all the hard work and now it was your turn to do the same, you owed the group at least that.

"We bury him tomorrow and have a funeral for him, it's what he would want. I can bury him in the morning, you guys all need the rest." You suddenly said catching Ricks attention as he looked over at you with a relieved expression and you nodded to him before looking back at the others who nodded slightly in agreement.

-

It took Daryl a while to fall asleep that night, he stayed up until he saw the light in Y/N's tent go out before he let himself relax in his tent knowing she was asleep. He could tell something was off with her once they walked back to the campsite and it wasn't just about Dale. No one was themselves last night, still trying accepted that Dale is gone, that another family member is gone. But there was something different with Y/N, he wasn't sure what but he tried not to think about it, figuring she would talk to him when she was ready.

He woke up suddenly to the sound of a muffled scream. He quickly sat up in his sleeping bag fearing that someone else had gotten attacked by a walker when a soft whimper followed the scream and he realised it was coming from your tent. She must be having a nightmare.

He quickly kicked off his sleeping bag grabbing his crossbow just in case as he exited his tent. He looked over to the other tents in the main campsite but nobodys light was on meaning they were all asleep. He grabbed the small lamp Y/N had hanging from a tree branch as he made his way over to her tent, unzipping it slowly to make sure not to scare her.

His felt his heart sink once he saw her lying on top of her sleeping bag, a layer of cold sweat over her forehead as she tossed and turned in the bed, mumbling words that he couldn't quite put together. He dropped his crossbow on the floor next to Y/N's bow before he placed the lamp on the ground as he made his way towards her, knowing he needed to wake her up to get her out of whatever nightmare she was reliving.

"No." You mumbled in your sleep as Daryl knelt down beside you in worry.

"Y/N." He said softly shaking your shoulder gently but you didn't wake up as you squirmed in his arms.

"No. Matthew!" You whimpered getting more and more worked up from the nightmare as Daryl suddenly gripped your shoulders tighter to stop you from moving and hurting yourself.

"Y/N, its just a dream, wake up." Daryl begged when suddenly you gasped siting up in bed in panic until you saw Daryl sitting next to you and you sighed. It was just a dream. It was only a dream, Matthew isn't here, its Daryl. It was just a dream, you thought to yourself trying to calm your breathing.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." You whispered as you sat up motioning for Daryl to take a seat next to you which he did without saying a word. It wasn't the first time he had woken you up from a nightmare but you were still embarrassed about it and felt bad for ruining his night.

"Ya know you don't have ta apologise for that Y/N." Daryl muttered in a kind voice bumping your shoulder playfully and you smiled resting your head in the crook of his neck, something the two of you did nearly every night after he wakes you up from a nightmare. It made you feel safe, being close to him like that. Although the first time you did it he froze up from the sudden contact, but before you could pull away and apologise he slid his arm around your waist pulling you closer. Ever since then it became a common thing between the two of you.

"Who's Matthew? You've said that name a few times in your sleep." Daryl suddenly asked and you closed your eyes as the memories of Matthew flowed through your mind.

"Matty was my little brother, he would have been the same age as Carl and Sophia now." You simply said with a soft smile. "When this whole thing started it was just me and Matthew at home, our parents were away on a holiday leaving me in charge. We saw all the news coverage and footage of what was happening until all power and satellites went down. We lived on the edge of town, luckily because when we woke up to screams and people running down the streets being chased by the walkers we had a few extra minutes to get the hell out of dodge. Which was exactly what we did. A few days earlier Matthew and I gathered up some clothes and essentials and packed it into my truck, as well as all dads guns, my archery and camping gear. So when the walkers took over our town I grabbed him and got into the truck and just drove. I had no idea where we were going, he wanted to go to Atlanta because that's where our parents were last we heard, but I knew that would have been one of the first places over run. So we just kept driving north away from our little town and away from Atlanta. We lasted a few months before supplies ran out and my truck broke down. We relied on scavenging and hunting to survive, but one day we got trapped in a gas station, walkers blocked our exits and Matty got bit, it was my fault. I let him walk off for a few minutes, I should have never let him out of my sight... I had to put him out of his misery like what you did to Dale last night. Then eight, nine months later I found Sophia then found you guys." You explained still with your head resting on Daryl's shoulder as he reached for your hand holding it in his lap.

"Your brother would have known you did everything you could to help him survive in this world." Daryl replied as he rubbed his thumb in soft soothing circles over your hand and you smiled through your teary eyes.

"And your brother would have known you did everything you could to try get him back, even though he wasn't there when you got back to Atlanta." You said softly remembering the night Daryl told you about Merle and what happened in Atlanta. Daryl scoffed, shaking his head.

"We're more alike than I originally thought." He mumbled and you chuckled slightly but nodded in agreement before going silent for a few minutes.

"What are we Daryl?" You suddenly asked lifting your head off his shoulder to look at him properly, but you didn't release your hand from his.

"What do ya want us to be?" He asked his voice a little tense, not knowing what you were going to say. You took a deep breath hoping like hell that you don't ruin your friendship with him by saying what you're about to.

"I like you Daryl, I like you more than a friend and if you don't feel the same way I completely understand and I'm sorry for bringing it up but-" You quickly said before Daryl cupped your cheek turning you towards him as his lips hit yours. It wasn't hard or forceful like the kisses you were use to, it was soft and gentle and something you never thought you would ever experience, especially with him.

"I like ya too." He whispered in a husky voice as he rested his forehead against yours. "Ya sure you want this though?"

"I wouldn't rather anything else." You replied unable to stop the smile forming on your face as Daryl brushed his fingers through your hair. "The group is gonna flip when they find out. Although, I think Carol and some of the others were getting a bit suspicious about us."

"Who cares how they react, you're my girl now, ain't nothing gonna change that."

-

The next morning the group joined you and Daryl by Dales grave that the two of you dug in the early hours of the morning. Everyone all gathered around the grave in a circle while you and Daryl stood a bit behind the others, hand in hand. You all listened to Rick make a speech about how good of a man Dale was despite the world turning to shit.

"In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken... The best way to honour him is to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together, stop feeling sorry for ourselves and take control of our lives, our safety, our future. We're not broken. We're gonna prove him wrong. From now on we're gonna do it his way, that is how we honour Dale." Rick said and everyone nodded in agreement before you all slowly left the grave.

"You okay?" Daryl mumbled squeezing your hand gently as you looked up at him with a slight nod, not trusting your voice at the moment. You looked back over to Dales grave thinking about how Matthew was just buried in the middle of woods in the middle of nowhere. At least Dale got a proper send off, he was a good man. You thought to yourself.

"Hey Y/N!" Maggies voice shouted catching your attention as you and Daryl both turned around to find the farmers daughter running towards you with a smile.

"Hey Maggie, what's up?" You asked giving the young woman a friendly smile. You had grown to like Maggie, the two of you had become pretty close friends over the past week and you adored the cute relationship she had with Glen, they suited each other perfectly.

"You use to work at a motorcycle garage right?" She asked and you nodded slowly unsure to where this conversation was heading. "Can you ride motorcycles?"

"Yeah I can. I haven't since this all started, its something I miss to be honest. There's nothing like riding through the open country roads." You answered as you glanced over at Daryl who was looking at you with an impressed expression.

"My brother, Shaun. He had an old dirt bike he use to ride around on the farm, none of us known how to ride and I figured someone might as well enjoy it. The only other person I could think of was Daryl, but he already has a motorcycle." Maggie replied and you stared at her in shock, you had seen the bike earlier in the shed, but it wasn't yours so you had no right to touch it.

"Wait are you serious? Can I actually ride it?" You asked in disbelief glancing over at Daryl who had a smug look on his face at your reaction before you looked back at Maggie who laughed with a nod.

"There's some spare jerrycans of fuel in the back shed if it needs any." Maggie replied and you thanked her before she jogged back to Glen and Hershel who were making their way back to the farm house. You turned to Daryl unable to hide the smile face as you began pulling him towards the shed where the dirt bike was. He chuckled softly at your excitement watching you with amusement as you led him to the shed. 


	8. Chapter 8

"Do ya really think ya can get this bike started?" Daryl questioned as you finished filling the tank with fuel, placing the jerrycan on the bench next to the bike.

"Are you doubting me Daryl Dixon?" You questioned raising your eyebrow at him before you grabbed the handle bars of the bike, kicking the stand up as you pushed the bike out the shed with Daryl following behind.

You looked over your shoulder at Daryl who was watching you in amusement. He has never known a girl who liked motorcycles, let alone one who knew her way around the engine of one. It was just another thing he could add the list of the reasons why he liked you.

You turned your attention back to the bike as you swung you right leg over the seat before making sure the bike was in neutral as you turned the key but nothing happened. "Shit the electric start is broken." You muttered as you pulled the kick starter out before slamming your foot down against the leaver as the bike purred to life. You sat down on the seat as you revved the engine letting it idle for a few seconds before you heard Daryls motorcycle start up.

"Try to keep up." He shouted over his shoulder and you grinned as you kicked the bike in gear before releasing the clutch as you took off past Daryl. You shifted up a couple gears as you cruised around the paddock and the farm house, the cool breeze flowing past your face making you feel alive. You glanced over your shoulder as Daryl gave you the thumbs up as he followed behind you on his Triumph.

*Meanwhile*

"Hey daddy look! Y/N got the old dirt bike working." Maggie shouted from the front porch of the house watching as you and Daryl rode around the area.

"I'll be damned, she did." Hershel suddenly said walking through the front door taking in the scene in front of him as Ricks group all walked up the house in surprise.

"At least some of us found a way to have some fun." Glen commented with a smile watching the two of you race around as Maggie wrapped her arms around his waist watching you guys ride.

"They are gonna get themselves killed." Shane muttered as he leant against the railing with an unamused glare.

"Leave them alone Shane, the two are having fun and after what they've both have been through the past few years, they deserve it." Carol replied as she pulled Sophia closer to her giving her a hug.

"Do you think they are together?" Rick suddenly questioned looking over at the girls knowing there was no point asking the guys, they wouldn't have a clue.

"Did you see them this morning? They are definitely together." Lori replied with a slight smile.

-

A few minutes later you noticed Rick standing by the farm house waving for you and Daryl to come over there. You glance over at Daryl who already spotted Rick and you nodded as you both rode back towards the farm house parking the bikes by the front steps.

"Hershel is letting us stay in the house from now on." Rick said as you and Daryl climbed off the bikes and walked over to them.

"It will be a tight fit but don't worry about that, we should have moved you guys in a while ago, its not safe to sleep out there." Hershel stated and you nodded in appreciation before Rick started handing out orders for everyone. T-Dog was keeping watch of the perimeter, keeping watch of everyone coming and going while you and Daryl took the double guard shifts. Hershel stocked the basement up in case you all need to retreat in there for a few days.

"After we get this area locked down and all our gear inside, Daryl and I will take Randall offsite and cut him loose." Rick stated and Daryl nodded before he began helping T-Dog take down all the tents.

"We're back to that now?" Shane questioned in frustration and you rolled your eyes looking over at Rick hoping he will shut his friend up.

"It was the right plan first time around. You don't agree, but this is what's happening. Swallow it. Move one." Rick simply said but you knew it wasn't enough for Shane who shook his head.

"You known that Dales death and the prisoner... that's two separate things right? You wanna take Daryl as your wingman, be my guest." Shane responded and you shook your head. Damn right Rick was gonna choose Daryl over him, he trusts Daryl, he respects him! He may have trusted Shane a long time ago, but shit has clearly changed and it was time Shane learnt that.

"Thank you." Rick muttered walking off towards you giving you a nod which meant for you to follow him as he walked which is what you did. "Shane can get worked up sometimes, he's not a bad guy... he's just his own worst enemy."

"I know he use to be your partner back in the day, but I don't trust him Rick and I know Dale didn't either." You replied causing Rick to stop walking as he pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

"I know. I know. Which is why I am asking you to keep an eye on him, you're good at observing and reading people just like Daryl and I would have asked him to do it, but him and I are gonna drop Randall off which means while we're gone I need you to step up. Can you do that for me?" Rick asked and you nodded. Babysitting Shane... of course I get stuck with that job while the other women get to set up our new camp in the lounge room of the farm house.

"I'm gonna go drop mine and Daryl's stuff off at the farm house and see if anyone else needs help, but don't worry I will keep an eye on him." You replied and Rick nodded with a smile before you jogged over to yours and Daryl's tents before you began packing everything up.

-

"Daryl and I will take the corner by the window if its not taken." You said as you climbed out the old blue truck before you began unloading all your gear.

"That's all yours." Maggie replied as she helped you carry everything inside. You found a spare gun strap on the bench, asking if anybody was using it, but Lori told you it was a spare. You clipped it too your bow slinging it over shoulder like how Daryl carried his crossbow sometimes. Now you don't have to drop your bow every time you wanted to use your handgun instead.

You walked outside after setting yours and Daryl's sleeping bags up and noticed Daryl and Rick were standing on the other side of the railing under the veranda, obviously discussing where they are gonna drop Randall off. Not wanting to disturb them you walked over to Jimmy giving him a hand with nailing the wooden planks of wood against the windows.

A few hours went by while you helped with odd jobs around the farm, while keeping an eye on Shane. He had mainly been building a lookout platform on the windmill all day, but as you looked back over in that direction he wasn't there. Where the hell did he go? You thought to yourself as you walked passed the cars and motorcycles parked in front of the house when you caught site of someone walking into the wooden shed where Randall was being held. It was across the other side of the paddock, so you couldn't quite see who it was, but you could probably make a pretty good guess.

You knew Shane was going to try kill Randall, but you weren't going to let him do that. Rick said no and it's what Dale would want, so like hell you were going let Shane kill him.

You jogged over to the shed opening the door to find Shane about to walk out the door with Randall in front of him.

"What the hell are you doing?" You exclaimed walking into the room as you shut the door behind yourself to stop Randall from running out if he got free from Shanes grip.

"Walk away Y/N, this doesn't concern you." Shane growled as he shoved Randall to the ground who's hands were duck tapped behind his back with his blindfold still on.

"What are you doing with him?" You questioned folding your arms over your chest as you stared at Shane not backing down as he took a step towards you.

"Rick told me to get Randall." Shane lied and you shook your head rolling your eyes.

"If you're gonna lie to me at least make it somewhat believable. Now put the handcuffs back on him, leave the shed and I won't tell Rick about this." You ordered holding your hands out to show that you don't want a fight.

"I have to kill him, Rick is making a mistake. Now get out my way." Shane shouted pushing you to the side so he could get to Randall but you grabbed his arm pulling him away. "You little bitch." He muttered, grabbing the collar of your shirt as he slammed you into the wall across the room. You landed on the floor gasping for breath from the sudden force of the wall, but before you could get up Shane marched back over to you pulling you to your feet by your hair.

"When you wake up you don't tell anyone about what just happened here or else I will kill you." Shane muttered, but before you could make anysense of his words his fist slammed against your temple and the last thing you saw was the ground rushing towards you before everything went black.

-

"Whats going on?" Carol questioned as the group rushed towards the shed where Rick, Daryl, T-Dog and Andrea were gathered.

"Randalls missing." T-Dog muttered as he walked out the shed crossing his arms in frustration as the rest of the group reached the shed wanting to know what happened.

"The cuffs are still hooked he must have slipped them." Rick informed walking out the shed towards the group.

"How's that even possible?" Lori questioned as she grabbed Carl and Sophias hands making sure they stayed close to her while Randall was running free somewhere.

Rick looked around at the group before glancing over at Daryl who was already trying to look for tracks around the shed before Shane came running from the forest.

"Rick! Rick!" Shane shouted causing the group to rush over to him gasping at his bloodied face.

'What happened?" Rick questioned.

"He's armed! He's got my gun. Little bastard just snuck up on him." Shane explained as he wiped the blood from his nose.

"Alright, Hershel, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house! Glenn, Daryl, come with us!" Rick instructed, but Daryl froze looking over at the group finding everyone standing there but you.

"Wait, where's Y/N?" Daryl questioned as he loaded his crossbow looking over at Rick as his eyes scanned the group.

"She's probably back at the house." Rick replied, but Daryl shook his head. She could be out there somewhere while Randall is free with a gun running around.

"She can take care of herself, we need to find Randall." Shane added glancing over at Daryl who looked hesitant on what to do.

"Rick needs you to help track Randall. We will find Y/N, she's probably in the house." Maggie reassured looking at Daryl before giving Glen a quick kiss as Rick, Shane, Glen and Daryl all ran in the direction Shane pointed them towards. God you better be okay, he thought.


	9. Chapter 9

"What the hell?" You muttered opening your eyes to find yourself staring up at trees as the moon light shone through the tree tops . Why am I lying in the woods? What the hell happened? You thought to yourself as you sat up feeling a sharp pain coming from your head. What the fuck? You touched your temple noticing blood on your fingers and that's when you remembered what happened. "Shane you fucking asshole." You muttered to yourself as you stood up trying to workout where you were. You still had your gun and bow on you which was good, but you had no clue how far into the woods you were.

After a few minutes of walking you came out of the woods and spotted the farm house in the distance, thank God it was a full moon. You sighed with relief as you began running towards the house to warn Rick and the others that Shane took Randall.

"Rick!" You shouted as you opened the front door slamming it behind yourself, but you quickly stopped when you saw most of the group all standing around the main room with worried expressions.

"Y/N! Oh thank God you're okay." Maggie suddenly said rushing towards you as she pulled you into a tight hug.

"You're bleeding, what happened?" Carol suddenly questioned as everyone huddled around you in worry and confusion.

"It was Shane. He was going to take Randall out and kill him. I tried to stop him, but he knocked me out and left me in lying in the woods." You explained looking around the room with a frown when you couldn't see Rick or Daryl.

"Shane did this?!" Lori asked in disbelief and you nodded.

'Where's Rick and Daryl?" You asked glancing around the room as sudden panic began to take over, Shane hasn't killed them too has he?

"Rick, Daryl and Glen went out into the woods to help Shane find Randall! Shane said Randall attacked him, stole his gun and ran into the woods." T-Dog said and you sighed running your fingers through your hair nervously, but before you could say anything else Daryl and Glen walked through the door.

"Daryl!" You shouted catching his attention and he sighed with relief pulling you into a hug as he kissed the top of your head.

"What happened to ya? Where's Rick 'n Shane?" Daryl suddenly questioned as he cupped your cheek turning your head to the side so he could get a better look at the cut on your temple from where Shane punched you.

"Shane did it. Y/N caught him trying to kill Randall and he knocked her out, left her in the woods to be eaten by walkers while he let Randall escape." T-Dog explained and Daryl's eyes went wide with shock.

"You telling us that Shane did all this? Shit. Him and Rick went off trying to track Randall and we heard a shot, they aren't back yet?" Glen suddenly asked and everyone froze in fear, they heard a shot?

"Maybe they just came across a walker or Randall. Shane wouldn't kill his best friend." Andrea said trying to calm everyone down but it clearly wasn't working.

"Randall's dead. He was walker, but he had no bites." Daryl explained and you frowned in confusion. How could he turn if he wasn't bitten?

"Can you please go back out there and find Rick and Shane and find out what on earth is going on?" Lori suddenly asked looking over at Daryl who nodded.

"You got it." Daryl replied as he began heading for the door.

"I'm going with you." You quickly said grabbing your bow from your back as you followed Daryl out the door. You walked onto the front porch until Daryl immediately stopped in his tracks staring out towards the barn. You followed his line of sight wondering what made him stop walking when you saw the walkers. Hundreds of walkers scattered near the barn heading for the house.

"Patricia kill the lights." Hershel whispered.

"I'll get the guns." Andrea suddenly said as she rushed back inside. You took a step closer to Daryl who noticed your sudden movement as he grabbed your hand squeezing it gently trying to calm your nerves.

"Maybe they're just passing through, like the herd on the highway. Should we go inside?" Glen suggested but Daryl shook his head.

"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs I don't know about. A herd that size will rip the house down." Daryl replied nodding towards the herd as Andrea came back with the bag of guns handing them out to everyone. Maggie held a shotgun out for you but you shook your head slinging your bow back over shoulder as you pulled out your handgun.

"I got the number... Its no use." Daryl stated watching as everyone started loading the guns.

"You can go if you want." Hershel said as he stuffed spare shotgun shells into his pockets.

"You gonna take 'em all on?" Daryl questioned glancing down at you before looking back over towards the farmer.

"We have guns. We have cars."

"Kill as many as we can. We can use the cars to draw the rest of them off the farm." Andrea suddenly said glancing over at you and you nodded grabbing another handgun out the bag knowing you were gonna need more ammo if the group was actually doing this.

"Are ya serious?" Daryl questioned wanting to make sure everyone knew what they were getting into before it was too late.

"This is my farm. I'll die here." Hershel replied as he loaded his shotgun.

"Alright. It's as good a night as any." Daryl stated as he jumped down from the porch holding his hand out for you as you followed him.

"Glen, Maggie you guys in one car. T-Dog, Andrea you guys in the other. One drives and the other shoots. Lori, Carol, Sophia, Beth, Patricia you guys stay in the house with Hershel. Daryl and I will take the motorcycles." You shouted as you all ran towards the vehicles parked next to the house.

"I will take the RV." Jimmy shouted in the background as you watched everyone get into the cars as you and Daryl climbed on your motorcycles.

"Be careful, alright?" Daryl shouted as you kickstarted your dirt bike glancing over at him.

"You too." You replied giving him a nod before you tapped the bike into gear as you took off towards the barn. The other vehicles all followed behind before everyone broke off in different directions to shoot the walkers.

You rode towards the fence line noticing Daryl parked along the fence a few hundred metres away firing at the walkers. You quickly stopped the bike putting your feet down on the ground as you pulled out your handgun and began firing. Shot after shot after shot. You could see the cars in the distance driving around firing, but you focused on the walkers near the barn as you continued to take them down one at a time.

"Shit." You muttered when you noticed walkers coming up behind you. Where the hell did they come from? You thought to yourself as you slid your handgun back in your belt as you kicked the bike into gear taking off back towards the house. You noticed a bunch of walkers heading for the house instead of the burning barn like the others. Again you parked the bike on a small hill as you began firing at the walkers heading for Hershel who was still firing his shotgun in front of the house. God damn it he's going to get himself killed. You thought as you quickly swapped guns after running out of bullets in the other.

"Come on Hershel, go with the others." You muttered watching as the women all made a run for it towards T-Dog and Andrea's truck knowing that they couldn't stay in the house for much longer. You looked back at Hershel before you continued to fire at the walkers near the house. Headshot after headshot after headshot. But more just kept coming. They were like damn Hydra, shooting one in the head and two more taking its place, this isn't going to work.

You glanced back towards the burning barn trying to find Daryls bike, but you couldn't see anything passed all the walkers. You turned back to the others just in time to see a walker fall on top of Andrea as T-Dog took off in the truck. You thought you could see Lori and Beth inside but you had no idea where Carol and Sophia where. Shit. Shit. They probably don't have gun between them. You glance around trying to spot them while you continue to fire at the walkers, but you knew your ammo was going to run out soon. You spot Rick and Carl running towards Hershel and you knew they would get him to safety, you just needed to find Carol and Sophia.

Without hesitation you put your bike into gear and took off back towards the house when you heard Carol screaming. You glanced over your shoulder and spotted her running along the dirt road, but she was pointing to something near the house and that's when you saw Sophia running back towards the house. Shit. You quickly shifted up a gear riding towards Sophia when you saw a walker sneaking up behind her. You didn't have time to stop the bike to take a shot so you quickly took your left hand off the handle bars trying to steer with one had as you pulled your gun out, firing at the walker behind the little girl. It went down like a sack of potatoes and Sophia was safe for now, but you didn't have time to celebrate the small victory as you lost control of the bike.

"Shit." You swore tucking your gun into your belt, but before you could try steady the bike it tipped, sending you and the bike skidding across the rocky ground until you came to a stop. Sudden pain erupted over the left side of your body, you groaned in pain trying to sit yourself up when you saw your jeans ripped and cut on your left leg along with blood and cuts all down your left arm. At least it's only down my left side and not everywhere. You thought to yourself as you slowly got to your feet feeling a sharp pain in your left side which you knew would be bruised to hell and most likely cut like your arm and leg. You just hoped you hadn't crack any ribs, the pain sure felt like it, but there was no time to check, walkers were closing in and you had to get to Sophia.

You limped over to your bike which was lying on the ground a few metres away. You fired at a few walkers that were too close for comfort before you lifted your bike up swinging your good leg over the seat before riding towards the house.

"Sophia!' You shouted as you turned around the side of the house and spotted her running towards you with a group of walkers behind her. "Run!" You shouted as you stopped the bike and took down as many of the walkers around her as possible before you ran out of bullets.

You shuffled back on your seat as you lifted Sophia up onto the bike, surprising yourself with your strength as you sat her in front of you, knowing that if she sat behind you she might fall off.

"Hold on to here. I got you, just hold on." You ordered as you tapped the bike into first gear before taking off away from the walkers, away from the farm. You glanced over your shoulder just in time to see the barn collapse from the fire, the whole farm now just covered in walkers.

You focused back on the road looking over Sophia's shoulder as you manoeuvred your way past stray walkers along the dirt road. You had no idea where you going. You could barely think straight. All you knew was that you had to put as much distance between you and the farm.

-

"Thank God." Lori shouted as he jumped out T-Dog's truck running towards Carl and Rick as everyone else rushed to their friends and family on the highway who they never thought they'd see again.

Daryl sat on his bike looking around trying to find you or your bike, but you were no where to be seen and he felt his heart drop.

"Where did you find everyone?" Rick questioned looking over at Daryl who sighed as he climbed off his bike joining the group hoping that someone would know where you were.

"Well those guys' tail lights zigzagging all over the road, figured he had to be Asian driving like that." He answered giving everyone something to laugh about as he took in which members of the group where actually here.

"Good one." Glen replied with a soft chuckle before Daryl asked what everyone else was thinking.

"Where's everyone else?" He asked aiming the question to Rick who he figured would know more than the others.

"We're the only ones who made it so far." Rick replied and Daryl shook his head running his fingers through his hair. She made it. She had to make it.

"Shane's the one who took Randall, he tried to kill Y/N. Where's Shane?" Lori questioned looking at her husband who shook his head and everyone knew what that meant. Rick killed Shane.

"Andrea?" Glen asked looking around the group.

"She saved me then I lost her." Carol informed before T-Dog started talking.

"We saw her go down."

"What about Sophia? My little girl?" Carol suddenly questioned tears forming in her eyes as she looked desperately at the group hoping someone saw her but they all shook their heads.

"Patricia?" Hershel questioned.

"They got her too. They took her right from me." Beth cried as Hershel pulled her into a hug to calm her down. "What about Jimmy? Did you see Jimmy?"

"He was in the RV, it got over run." Rick explained and everyone dropped their heads thinking about the people they all lost.

"What about Y/N?" Daryl asked breaking the silence trying to keep his voice strong as he glanced around the group.

"I saw her, she was going to get Sophia, but she crashed her bike. I didn't see her after that." Carol answered as tears slowly dropped down her cheeks and Daryl shook his head.

"Nah she would've made it. She had to." He stated walking back over to his motorcycle. "I'm gonna go back."

"No." Rick quickly said putting his hand on Daryl's shoulder, but he shrugged it off in anger.

"We can't just leave her! She could be out there! I will circle around the property, she isn't dead." Daryl shouted as he sat down on his bike.

"Daryl! We can't stay here, it isn't safe." Rick said trying to keep his tone down knowing that if it was Lori still out there then he would be doing the exact same thing.

"Just give me one hour. That's all I'm asking for." Daryl pleated, and Rick sighed but nodded moving out the way as Daryl took off down the highway in the direction of the farm.


	10. Chapter 10

"Where are we going?" Sophia shouted over the roar of the motorcycle as you pulled off to the side of the road, watching as the sun began to rise.

"I don't know." You admitted wincing as you tried to sit up straighter, but the pain radiating from your left side was enough to stop you in an instant.

"Did you see if Daryl made it out?" You asked, but Sophia shook her head.

"Where would the others be?" Sophia asked and you sighed. You honestly had no idea where the others would go. Nobody ever talked about where to meet if something like this happened. "I'm getting hungry, the others might have food." Sophia added and you smiled softly at her confidence in finding the group.

"Yeah they might have food- Wait... Sophia you're a genius!" You suddenly said as you tapped the bike into gear. "The highway where your mother left the food and the note for you, that's where they would be." You explained before you took off down the road heading for the highway. They must be at the highway. They have to be there.

-

"We can't stay here much longer Rick." Hershel stated as he walked over to Rick who was leaning against one of the cars watching over the group.

"I know. Daryl will be back soon and then we'll go." Rick replied as he looked to the right side of the highway making sure T-Dog was still on watch keeping an eye on that side of the highway.

"What if he comes back and Y/N isn't with him? You and I both know he won't leave this area until he finds her." Hershel responded and Rick sighed looking over at Lori who was trying to comfort Carol.

"Y/N might be the newest member of the group, but she's family. In the end I trusted her more than I trusted Shane. Daryl took an interest in her as soon as she arrived and Daryl isn't one to talk and connect with people, but they did, they get each other. You saw the way they were around each other, hell they were together before they even knew about it." Rick replied throwing his hands in the air in frustration. "If it was Maggie or Beth out there wouldn't you be doing exactly what Daryl is?"

"Of course I would, but I'd also know that the group can't just stay out on the open highway." Hershel answered before he began to walk away. "Just make sure when Daryl gets back he knows that too."

Rick sighed rubbing his face with hands when suddenly the sound of a motorcycle filled the air, but it didn't sound like Daryl's.

"Is Daryl back?" Glen whispered glancing over at Rick who was trying to find the source of the bike which was when he saw you riding towards them with Sophia.

"Y/N!" Rick shouted softly not wanting to attract any unwanted attention.

"Oh thank God." You sighed when you spotted Rick and the others all huddled around the broken down cars down the road. You rode over towards them stopping next to the familiar red SUV that you saw Rick take from the farm. "Can someone take her off the bike for me?" You asked as Rick quickly walked over to you unable to hide his smile as he lifted Sophia off the bike and onto the ground where she sprinted to Carol who was a few cars away with the rest of the group.

You sighed with relied that Carol was still alive, the last you saw she was being chased by walkers, maybe Rick picked her up after he and Carl got Hershel.

You leant against the handle bars of your bike dropping your head as you took in a couple deep breaths trying to ignore the pain from your left side. You knew your arm and leg was cut and bruised from the crash, but that wasn't what was bothering you, it was your left side from your rig cage down to your hip that was hurting.

"Hey, you alright?" Rick questioned as you lifted your head to find him standing next to you while the others all hugged and greeted Sophia, giving you and Rick some privacy. "Carol saw you crash the bike, sounded like it was bad."

"I'm okay. Just a few scrapes and bruises." You replied motioning towards your left arm and leg as Rick walked around the other side of the motorcycle to get a better look.

"We don't have any medical supplies with us... we could try scavenge some of these cars, we might find a first aid kit." Rick suggested, but you shook your head as Hershel made his way towards the two of you.

"It's fine. Where's Daryl?" You asked as you kicked the stand down on the bike as you climbed off. "Shit." You muttered grabbing onto the bike as you nearly fall over from the sudden pain flaring through your left side.

"You're not fine. Let me see?" Rick said softly glancing over at the group who were still busy with Sophia.

"It's nothing, just landed on my side when I crashed the bike." You replied as you slowly lifted up your ripped flannel shirt and singlet revealing deep purple bruises and small cuts covering your entire left side.

"Shit Y/N! You should have said something." Rick exclaimed and you shook your head as Hershel took a closer look at your injury.

"I can't know for sure, but I think you might have broken at least one of your ribs, but it doesn't seem to be a bad break. It should heal on its own in a couple months." Hershel explained after a few seconds and you nodded, not really caring about your injury at the moment.

"Where's Daryl? Did he make it out?" You asked unable to hide the emotion in your voice as you pulled your shirt back down.

"He made it out, but he went back to look for you." Rick replied and you sighed with relief. Daryl was alive, that's the main thing. "Can you walk? The others are all sitting over there?"

"Yeah, lets go." You replied as you slowly limped towards the others, Rick right next to you ready to grab you in case you lost your footing.

"Y/N! I thought I was never going to see you again." Maggie suddenly said as you and Rick reached the group and you couldn't help but smile at the sight of your friends and family.

"Thank you for rescuing Sophia again and for bringing her back to me." Carol thanked while she continued to hug Sophia and you nodded.

"She actually saved me, if it wasn't for her I wouldn't have thought to come here." You admitted as you reach one of the cars and immediately leant against it with a wince.

"Daryl will be back soon, once he's back we will hit the road and head East away from the herd. Y/N may have broken a few ribs so if find any medical supplies along the way we'll grab them. Now T-Dog, Glen get back to your watch points to keep an eye out for walkers while-" Rick began to instruct when the familiar rumble of Daryls motorcycle filled the air.

You turned towards the noise as Daryl's bike appeared next to T-Dogs blue truck, he parked the bike with his head down not looking over at the group as he slowly got up off the bike.

"Daryl." Rick called jogging over to the other man putting his hand on Daryls shoulder.

"She's gone Rick. I couldn't find her." Daryl said softly shaking his head but you could hear him from where you were leaning against the car near the rest of the group.

"You didn't need to find her, man. She found her own way back, with Sophia." Rick informed causing Daryls head to snap up. He scanned the group with desperate eyes trying to find you until his eyes finally landed on you and you smiled feeling tears starting to rise in your eyes.

"Y/N!" Daryl said in disbelief running straight past Rick as you limped towards him before he pulled you into a tight hug. The sudden movement caused your side to erupt in pain but you didn't care, all you wanted was to be in Daryl's arms.

You could feel his body shaking as he held you close and you knew he was crying, hell you were crying too. "I thought ya were gone. That ya left me here alone. God Y/N, I didn't know what to do." Daryl whispered his voice breaking at the end as he buried his head in your shoulder.

"You aren't alone, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." You said softly pulling away slightly giving him a soft kiss as he brushed the hair away from your face. He cupped your cheek wiping away your tears as you laughed softly unable to stop smiling.

"Be careful with her, she hurt herself pretty bad during her crash." Rick commented and you sighed wanting to enjoy this moment between you and Daryl a little longer without him worrying about you.

"Why didn't ya say something." Daryl muttered, but you knew he was just worried as he began looking you up and down trying to find the injury. "What did ya do?"

"I think its only a broken rib, at least that's what Hershel said." You explained and Daryl shook his head already lifting your shirt up to inspect it himself and you heard a low growl leave his lips when he saw the bruises down your side.

"Daryl, please its not a big deal. I'm fine." You said softly pulling your shirt back down. "I'm fine."

"It doesn't look fine." Daryl replied and you rolled your eyes as you placed your hand gently against his cheek, feeling him lean into your touch.

"I'm fine. You're alive. I'm alive. The group is still together and that is all that matters. Whatever happens, I will be right here by your side and nothing will ever change that." You said pulling Daryl towards you as you rested your head against his chest, he hugged you softly not wanting to hurt you as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders, his other hand against the back of your head, holding you close.

"I love ya Y/N." Daryl whispered kissing the top of your head and at that moment it felt like the whole world froze around you. Nothing else seemed to matter in that moment as you lifted your head up as your eyes locked with Daryl's crystal blue ones.

"I love you too Daryl Dixon." You replied causing the corners of Daryls lips to tug up into a slight smile as you glanced over at the rest of the group. Rick with his arms around Carl and Lori who was carrying the future in her stomach. Glen and Maggie standing hand in hand with a smile on their faces. Hershel hugging Beth alongside Carol and Sophia who was cuddling her mother, while T-Dog stood against a car watching the group with a proud smile. You looked back up at Daryl noticing he was glancing around the rest of the group with a slight smile on his face and at that moment you knew everything would workout in the end.

Yeah, the world had turned to shit with the dead walking around trying to eat anything that breaths, but if that never happened then you would have never met Daryl. You would have never met this group of amazing people that you now call family and you honestly had no idea what you'd do with them... Without Daryl in your life. So yeah, the world has changed and you now have to fight for survival everyday, but you are surrounded by the people you loved and with Daryl by your side, you wouldn't have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thank you for reading my first ever Daryl x Reader fic. I am already writing a second part to this fic which will be based in seasons 7 & 8 around the Negan era. The first chapter will posted soon.   
> Until then, stay safe everyone and have a great day xx


End file.
